Dangerous Ground
by wilderness-writer
Summary: Ready for a Zutara fic filled with action, romance, and a new plot? Then come, tread on Dangerous Ground and see what happens when water and fire collide. Can the two exist peacefully, or will they both be destroyed? The fate of the world may hang on it..
1. Chapter 1

**Dangerous Ground**

A fanfic by Wilderness Writer

Welcome to Wilderness Writer's first Avatar Fanfic. I've made a lot of promises in the summary, and I truly hope to live up to them in this story and not disappoint you, my beloved reader. I appreciate any feedback you may have for me, but please no flames.

Rating: I rated it "T" just to be safe. Nothing bad in this chapter except for some action/fighting scenes, but nothing gory. There may be more reason for the "T" rating later...

Pairing: This is a Zutara fic. I recognize that there is a huge difference of opinion on this shipping, and I do respect your views if you've got another pair in mind.

Author's Note: All characters are four years older than in the show. This is only to make it easier for me to write the fic, as I can better understand the characters I'm writing. Nothing has changed from the cannon other than that. No time has elapsed to make them older, I just jumped their ages ahead. Okay, on with the fic...

Chapter 1.

I was breathless. My ribs ached, my head throbbed, my legs felt as if a thousand flames were twisting and crawling inside them. I'm not sure how long we had been running, but it was getting close to as long as I could take. I felt my steps slowing, by legs turning to jelly beneath me, dragging me back to my death.

"Keep up, Katara!" Sokka shouted at me, grabbing my hand and lunging further into the forest. Tree limbs snapped and caught my hair, my dress, my skin. I put my hands up to shield my face, only to find myself stumbling over a tree root and colliding with the loamy earth beneath me.

"Come on, guys! We have to keep moving! They've almost caught up to us!" I pushed myself up on trembling arms to face Aang. He had been trailing behind us, throwing airballs at our pursuers, trying to give us a chance to escape. But one young airbender against twenty trained firebenders and an angry prince was not a fair match.

I felt myself tugged firmly to my feet by Sokka. I forced my legs to move, gathering every bit of strength within me. If we could only make it to Appa, we'd be safe. We could fly away.

_Right Katara_. I thought bitterly to myself, _You'll never be safe. As long as you travel with Aang you will always be in danger of the Fire Nation and that psychopathic prince._ But I pushed the thought out of my head. Just get to Appa. It was my mantra. Get to Appa. Get to Appa.

Just that morning we had been sunning ourselves on the rocky pinnacle of a mountain overlooking an earthbender village. Then, the inevitable happened. Sokka got hungry. Curse Sokka and his infernal belly! He'd convinced us to take a trip into the village to buy some food. Of course, we'd had to leave Appa behind. There's something about a flying Bison that attracts attention.

It was wasted effort. Sokka's big mouth and Aang's naive ways had more than attracted the attention of firenation troops. They'd been trailing us for days, it seems, and the little trip into the village was just the slip-up they'd been hoping for. Now, with still at least a mile to go, I was rapidly losing strength and the will to go on. I cast a look at my brother. He, too, was fading quickly. His shoulders drooped and he was breathing heavily, it was taking everything in him to keep going.

Then it happened. A root seemed to rise up with the explicit intent on causing my doom. I fell, and did not get up.

"Katara!" Sokka shouted, pulling at my limp wrist. "We have to move!" But I stayed where I was, panting in the dirt. I heard Aang's hurried footsteps behind me. I gritted my teeth in frustration. He could escape if he wanted to. With one powerful blast of speed he could airbend himself right out of here. He was only lagging behind for us. For me.

"Go!" I shouted to him. "I can't run anymore." Aang looked at me in shock, as if the mere suggestion had caused him pain. He shook his head.

"Listen to me" I said between heaving breaths "You need to get out of here now. If you don't, they will catch us. The world will..." I didn't have the heart to say it. All I could think of was my home going up in flames, quite literally. "One airbender against all of them is not a fair match" I finished.

"I picked 'em all off, blew them away, only Zuko's left." Aang said, gripping his glider. I could see a look of determination cross his face. I'd seen that look before. I'd seen it on my father's face the day he'd agreed to help fight the Fire Nation. The look of one determined to fight, even to his own death.

On the face of a twelve year old boy. How could this be happening? He shouldn't be here. He should be home, playing with other boys and getting into trouble and just being a kid. Curse this stupid war! There was nothing I could do to stop the war, but I could at least convince Aang to escape.

" You don't know firebending, Aang. He could kill you. We can't take that chance. Go! Now!" Aang turned from me...

...And faced the woods. He would not leave. I felt a mix of anger and relief that did not sit well in my stomach. I reached out to turn him, to try to convince him...

Zuko appeared only a few yards away. He wasn't even out of breath. Of course he wasn't. He was a warrior, trained from birth, most likely. I hated him. Anger seethed in my chest as he stepped up to Aang, an arrogant grin draped crookedly across his face, as if he knew he'd already won.

Aang made the first move, sending a blast of air bowling through the woods that Zuko simply side-stepped. Aang threw a few more, but Zuko evaded them and unleashed his own barrage of attacks that singed the delicately fluttering leaves that surrounded their arena, sending wisps of acrid smoke to mar the summer's day beauty.

I watched in morbid fascination as they fought. It was a dance, a beautiful dance beneath the sun-dappled canopy of the forest, the sun's green-tinted rays playing on the bodies of the fighters and twinkling between wind and fire and smoke.

I was snatched from my trance when a tree suddenly burst into flames at the mercy of Zuko's fire. The bark snapped and curled, splinters bit through the air and the leaves quickly curled and turned to ash in the intense heat. Aang had narrowly escaped the blast by crouching beneath the flame. He stood now and with a powerful yell blew a gust of wind at Zuko that slammed him into a sturdy old oak.

But his move backfired. The displaced air had to be replaced, and it came from behind Aang, catching the smoldering embers and ashes of the tree and sending them into his back.

"Ooh! Hot! Hot!" Aang jumped and danced as he tried to shake the cinders off his clothes, giving Zuko just the opportunity he needed. He rushed at Aang, fists raised and consumed in flame. He threw a fireball that hurled Aang to the ground. Aang didn't get up.

Zuko stepped around Aang, his back to the burning tree, and prepared to land the final blow, the one that would incapacitate Aang enough to ensure that he would be no further threat to the Fire Nation.

"No!" I screamed.

And then the world stopped. I saw Aang look up, a mask of fear on his face; not in fear of Zuko, but what was behind him. The burning tree was almost entirely consumed, and had begun to topple. Aang scooted out of the way, but Zuko, his back to the tree, did not know that it was falling until it was too late.

With a crash the tree fell across his back, smacking the prince to the ground and knocking him unconscious. Aang took a deep breath and extinguished the fire that still smoldered on the tree, while also blowing it off the Prince's prone body.

There was silence for many minutes as they stood in the little clearing the fight had created.

Finally, Sokka spoke up and voiced the thought that was now hanging heavily on everyone's mind.

"What do we do now?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Dangerous Ground**

Summary: Zuko's prisoner of our little band of heros, and now Katara must face a battle between hatred for the enemy of her people and loyalty to their merciful ways.

Rating stays at 'T' though we're still pretty safe.

Enjoy, and thanks for reading!

Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

"I say we leave him were he is! This way we'll be sure he won't bother us for a while. At least until his people find him." Sokka said. He was leaning against a tree, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed at the prince's listless figure.

"I don't know, Sokka, his injuries look pretty serious. He could be dead by the time they find him." I said softly. I knew I wasn't helping the situation, but causing someone's death, even by simply not doing anything, caused a tumbling in my stomach that I couldn't ignore. "Besides," I continued, "he'll be at the mercy of whomever finds him. Fire Nation or not."

"We could bring him into the village. Maybe there's someone there who could take care of him." Aang suggested.

"And get caught by the firenation? They're swarming the village." Sokka waved his hands in the air.

"You're right. Besides, I wouldn't wish Zuko, injured or otherwise, on anyone." Aang said. I smiled. Aang's sense of humor always had a way of making things a little lighter, a little more easy to bear.

"Well, we're certainly not taking him with us!" Sokka protested.

"Yes we are." Aang said it so quietly that I almost didn't hear him. And I hoped that I _had_ heard him incorrectly.

"What!" Sokka was livid now. "Are you crazy? Did all those years in that iceberg freeze your brain? He's the_ Prince _of the_ Fire Nation _and our greatest enemy! Do you think for one minute that if you were captured by the firenation that he'd come and rescue _you_?"

Aang stood up slowly, an unfathomable look etched into his features.

"Actually, yes."

We made a quick stretcher for Zuko by lashing my parka to two branches. Aang and I took one end, while Sokka held up the other. But it didn't last long.

"Honey-covered lemurs, is he part Komodo Rhino or something? He must weigh a thousand pounds." Sokka said, a bit over-dramatically.

"It's the armor." Aang said, panting and struggling to hold the stretcher up. "It's easily a quarter of his body weight."

"Then let's take it off. He'll be less dangerous to us without it, anyway." Sokka was already unlacing the straps.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I stepped back, defiantly not ready to see the Fire Prince nude. But the boys ignored me and stripped off every last piece of armor, revealing, much to my relief, that Zuko wore a light tunic and pants beneath.

"There, that should make things easier." Sokka said, depositing the armor in a clump of ferns. We took the stretcher up and continued the journey.

By the time we arrived back at camp night had fallen. A soft blanket of glittering stars had covered the yawning black sky, while a brilliant moon now presided in the darkness as a queen among her tiny handmaidens.

Travel was out of the question. Bruised and bone weary we sank into a Appa's soft fur, relishing the comfort the shaggy monster provided. In a few moments, I could hear Sokka get up and make scratching sounds as he began to light a fire.

After a few minutes of furious scratching, a tiny blaze had sprung up, lighting the cave and providing warmth and cheer to its occupants. I settled back and sighed. I could smell the savory aroma of the rabbit meat we'd bought in the market now hissing spitting over the fire, skewered and wolfishly watched by Sokka. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the smell. At least we'd managed to accomplish something good while at the market. The meat would provide a welcome boost of morale.

"Um.. Katara, I don't mean to be a pain, but..." My eyes popped open. Aang stood in front of me, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head and kicking at pebbles in the dust.

"What is it, Aang?" He held out a canteen of water to me and pointed to his back.

"You don't think you could, um, you know. Do your water-bending-healing-thingy." Aang pointed to his back. I couldn't believe I'd forgotten. Of course he would have been hurt in the fight today. I suddenly remembered the hot cinders flying against Aang's back.

"Oh Aang, of course I will." I pushed aside my weariness tended to the scrapes and cuts on his arms. I streamed the water from the canteen and gently placed my hands on his wounds, feeling the energy pulled from my body as the cuts were healed and the skin closed over, soft and unmarked.

"Well, that takes care of my arms. I, uh, better take off my shirt now." Aang said, flashing me a big grin. He pulled the singed cloth over his head and flexed his newly-budding muscles childishly. "Yep. Nothing like beating firebender butt to make a man feel manly." Aang posed in what he must have though was a heroic pose. I laughed out loud and patted him on the head.

"Good job Aang." I said as I carefully began to work on his back. He let out a low sigh. One of seeming disappointment. I couldn't understand why. Hadn't he wanted to make me laugh? I shrugged. Aang had been acting a bit unusual since that trip to the Fortuneteller's. Maybe it was just part of growing up. Hadn't I gone through an awkward phase? I smiled. Yes, that must be it, just another awkward phase.

"Y'know, Katara, I probably could have taken on that whole troop and won." Aang said, his voice tinged with hopefulness.

"After all, beating Zuko was easy." He bragged. I hid a smile. I knew that beating Zuko had been anything but. Had it not been for that tree...

"Zuko!" I practically shouted. Everyone in the cave jumped. Including Appa. If you've never seen a flying bison jump let me tell you, it's quite a sight.

"What? Is he trying to escape?" Sokka was up and waving a skewer around in front of him.

"No. It's just that I almost forgot about him. I have to tend to his wounds, too." I said with a note of reluctance. I gathered up the canteen and padded over to where Zuko lay, still unconscious, on the stretcher beside Appa.


	3. Chapter 3

**Dangerous Ground**

Chapter Three

I stood there watching him for a moment. Here was my greatest enemy, at my feet, entirely at my mercy. Here was the man who would see the whole world enslaved to the Fire Nation, the son of the man who'd ordered my village burned, my family torn apart by war. Anger flickered inside me. I didn't want to heal him. I wanted to hurt him. To kick him and make him feel a little bit of the pain I'd had to endure since my mother died. I wanted to kill him!

_And what would that make you, Katara? _A voice spoke inside me. It was Gran-Gran's voice, soothing away the fiery anger in me. _It would make you no better than he is. You would become as bad as the Fire Lord himself , killing without mercy like that. _

So I knelt. I could feel Sokka and Aang's eyes on my back as I began to unbutton Zuko's tunic. I was acutely aware of a stew of emotions bubbling within me. Revulsion at having to not only touch, but heal, the mortal enemy of my entire race. Fear that he might wake up and kill us all. And a slight stirring of pity as the opening shirt revealed a mottling of scars and bruises. But I pushed the emotions aside and stared blankly down at the now bare chest of the Fire Prince. It rose and fell slowly with each breath, the taught muscles made even more apparent in the flickering shadows of the fire.

Living in the arctic, there had been little reason for the men of my community to remove their shirts. I felt a bit unnerved and intimidated, but easily hid it as I began to work, spreading water and healing in gentle, methodic movements.

But bruises weren't the only thing I found. Scars marked his torso in what seemed to be at least ten places. They were faint and healed over, but I could easily trace them with my fingertip. How many battles had the prince been in? I remembered Aang in the forest that morning, facing a battle he should not have had to face at the tender age of twelve. From the look of him, Zuko couldn't have been much older than me, and yet he bore the scars of a hundred battles. Had Zuko been forced to endure suffering at a young age, too?

I pushed the thought away. If he had, he'd probably deserved it. Spoiled Prince.I quickly buttoned his tunic back up and walked back to the fire.

Aang and Sokka were sharing an uncomfortable silence, which I broke.

"From what I remember from the healing classes, he's in pretty okay shape. I don't think there's any injuries inside of him, except for a few fractured ribs. He'll be fine, but in no shape to fight for the next couple weeks." I grabbed a skewer of rabbit meat and started to devour it with the enthusiasm of Sokka. I focused on the food, trying to forget the healing I'd just performed, pushing back the anger and bitterness I felt toward the Prince. Gran-Gran's words kept repeating in my head, and I spent what little energy I had left in memorizing her peaceful voice.

"Fire Nation soldiers are probably already looking for him." Sokka said with a nod to where Zuko lay. "We'll have to get an early start tomorrow. I say we ditch the prince and head North as fast as Appa can fly."

Aang shook his head, staring into the fire as if reliving some dark memory. "No. You heard Katara. He'll be at the mercy of whoever finds him. And what if no one finds him? He'll die."

"So? What's it to us? One less crazy firebender to chase us around." Sokka pouted.

"It's not our way." I looked up from the fire, piercing my brother with my gaze, willing him to remember the ways of our people. The ways before the war began. The cursed war! It was changing us all. Even I could feel bitterness striving for mastery over the peaceful teachings of my people.

"The Water Tribes have always been mercy-loving people. We are not like the Fire Nation. You must not forget that Sokka, lest you become one of them yourself."

I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Katara. Wake up. We have to go." Aang's face was blurry at first in my sleep-soaked eyes, but then slowly came into focus. I nodded and reluctantly left the warm sanctuary of my sleeping bag and began to help the boys pack.

Sokka, seemingly chastened from last night's lecture, had already tied Zuko's stretcher to the Appa's back and lashed down the Prince's arms and legs to keep him from falling out. I nodded a small nod of approval at him, at which he shrugged and huffed.

We flew all day, stopping only to give Appa a rest during lunch. At night, we found a secluded place by a lake to pitch camp. Pathetic little camp that it was. Sokka couldn't even get a meager fire going, due to the lack of dry kindling. A rainstorm must have recently gone through, since the ground was soaking wet. We slept on Appa's back that night, praying that there would be no rain.

The next day we spied a village, and Aang and Sokka went out to explore it while I tended Appa and watched Zuko. I'd had to assure them that Zuko was no threat in his weakened condition, but even I was not entirely convinced by my argument. I couldn't hide my relief when I saw Sokka and Aang come back with some metal twine, which they used to bind Zuko more securely.

"This is a nice place." Aang said during supper. "The village people are _really_ friendly. I think we should stay here for a while."

"I have to admit, I'm ready for a bit of a rest, myself." Sokka said as he leaned back languidly on one arm.

"Oh really, and what arduous labor have you been performing, brother?" I teased him. Sokka rose to the bait.

"Hey, the day running from Firebenders gets easy is the day you can accuse me of being lazy." He sulked.

"He's right, Katara. We need a break from running, and I think this might be a safe place." Aang leaned in close to me as he lowered his voice. "I've heard some of the villagers say that they have a secret army of Earthbenders here!"

"Really?" I rose from my seat. "This is great Aang! Maybe you can learn earthbending here!" I felt a surge of joy as I realized that maybe things were finally falling into place. I threw my arms around Aang and gathered him into a bear hug.

"Hey Aang, can you tear yourself away from your girlfriend for a moment and help me out. I'm gonna go try and catch some fish." Sokka deadpanned as he headed out into the woods. Aang jumped back and blushed and stumbled after Sokka with a silly grin on his face. I smiled and shook my head. It must be that awkward stage again.

I frowned as I looked around our camp. Wonderful. Just like men to leave the woman alone to do all the cleaning. I grumbled to myself as I picked up a pair of dirty socks and rolled up the mats to keep them from getting damp. Then I heard a groaning sound.

Zuko, bound and lying on the stretcher, began to thrash and struggle against the ropes and twine holding him down. Adrenaline coursed through my blood as backed up against Appa, seeking some protection in the hulking animal.

_Get a hold of yourself_ I chided myself. I took a few tentative steps forward. He heard my footfalls. His eyes snapped open and narrowed in a poisonous glare in my direction, golden orbs performing an intimidation tactic that had been practiced to perfection. But I summoned all my courage and put on my best 'indifferent' face, hoping against hope that it did not look more like a 'constipated' face.

"Untie me now!" He shouted. His face transformed into a mask of pain as soon as the words were out.

"You have some fractured ribs. Shouting will be painful for you." I said, trying to sound aloof. "And, seeing as you're my prisoner, I'd advise you to be a little more respectful." Oh, it felt so good to say that to him.

"I'm not your prisoner!" He growled. Well, at least he wasn't shouting.

"Hmmm, really? Then I suppose you just tied yourself up for the fun of it, then?" ._... if looks could kill... _I thought to myself.

"Where's the avatar?" His question caught me off-guard. Here he was, tied up and battered, and he was still preoccupied with finding Aang? I shook my head. Clearly I'd underestimated the depths of his insanity.

"The Avatar, _Aang_, the boy you're always hunting down, is the one that saved your life, you know. Sokka and I would have just left you to rot, but nooooo." I folded my arms.

"You think I'd rather be your prisoner? I'd prefer to be dead than have to stare at a water peasant!" He spat.

"You! You ungateful! You!" I stumbled over my words, too infuriated to even form a witty comeback. He smirked at me, knowing he won the verbal battle. I stormed away, muttering curses to myself.

I sat down at the far side of the camp and listened to the rustle of cloth as Zuko continued to push against his restraints. Finally, whether from exhaustion or the pain in his ribs, he gave up. I figured it would be safe to try talking to him again. After all, what else did I have to do?

I found a rock a few feet from where he lay and sat down on it. And stared at him.

"Why do you want Aang so much?" I anticipated the answer, but wanted to draw him out.

"The Fire Nation's plans are not the business of some water peasant." He snarled.

"I have a name. It's Katara." My statement was met with stony silence.

"The day I care about the name of a water tribe peasant is the day I am no longer the son of the Fire Nation." He said in utter disgust. I felt fingers of rage claw at me again. I know I had asked for it, but I was tired. I was tired of running and war and the whole darn Fire Nation. And most of all, I was tired of this grumpy, irascible prince.

"You think that just because you're some spoiled prince you can just treat people however you want? Well, guess what, the rules are changing! Because of you, I've lost my family, I've been taken from my home, I've been forced to fight a war for the freedom of my people, I've had to run and hide and fight your stupid soldiers, but I think the worst part of this whole thing is having to put up with you now!" My breath was coming in short, panting breaths. I couldn't stop. Not even if I wanted to. The frustration of countless years of pain were all coming out now through my clenched teeth.

"What is it with your stupid people anyway? Why can't they just live in peace with everyone else? Is your homeland so terrible that you can't live there and have to take everyone else's land?" I stood there, breathless, expecting a barrage of insults and quips. What came instead was perhaps more scary than if he'd just done as I'd expected.

Softly, he spoke. "The Fire Nation is beautiful. It is warm there, not like these cold, sunless lands. There are gardens there filled with every exotic fruit you could imagine, and meadows that go on forever." I was shaken by the tenderness with which he spoke of his home.

"Then why can't you just be happy there? Why do you have to make everyone else's life miserable?"

He shot me a glare that froze my blood. A look of what could have been sadness flickered over his face as quickly as a shadow through a sunbeam. It was replaced by his more familiar mask of hatred.

"Some things are not our choice."

"What do you mean? You have every choice!" I pursued. But he'd turned his head from me. Obviously, the conversation was over. I walked to the edge of the camp and stood staring out at the mountains. Earth Kingdom mountains. I closed my eyes and pieced together what the Fire Nation must look like from Zuko's description. He had certainly painted a beautiful picture. I sat down with a sigh. If it was so lovely, why leave? Why wage war over 'sunless, unyielding land'?

_Some things are not our choice. _

Who's choice? The Fire Nation's? Zuko's? The Fire Lord's? I put my head on my knees and let the wind wash over me, soothing the tumultuous thoughts that raged in my mind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Dangerous Ground**

Chapter Four.

"Mr. Sunshine is awake." I said in greeting to Sokka and Aang as they returned to the camp.

"Good. Now he can run along home." Sokka said as he threw down a net of fish.

"Wow! Good job. Did you catch all those?" I said, admiring the catch.

"Well, sorta. Mr. Big Ideas over there did most of the work." Sokka admitted. Aang beamed at me.

"I blew them out of the water." He said, holding up two fish of his own. I smiled and patted him on the head.

I made fish stew and it was delicious. Aang and Sokka would have finished it off if I hadn't snagged an extra bowl.

"We have a guest with us tonight." I reminded them, scooping out the meager portion left in the pot.

"Speaking of guests... What _are_ we going to do about him?" Aang said, staring into the fire.

"Well, we can't bring him back to his country, they don't even want him." Sokka laughed.

"We've established the fact that we can't let him go until his ribs are healed and he can fend for himself. So, let's just cross that bridge when we get to it." I said with finality as I turned from the fire and began to walk to the place where Zuko lay, still making half-hearted attempts to undo his bonds.

"Here, I've brought you some food." I said as I knelt down beside him. He tensed and turned to me.

"I refuse to eat your filthy Water Tribe food. You probably put bugs in it." He glared at me.

"Fine, _your highness,_ you can just starve tonight for all I care!" I slammed the bowl down, spilling a little on the ground. I heard Sokka yelp in protest. I stormed past Aang and Sokka, who were sitting by the fire, trying to suppress their laughter and failing miserably.

"Just admit it, Katara." Sokka called after me as I thundered to the edge of the camp. "Even you don't have the patience for Zuko."

I stopped. Sokka was right. The past couple days I had been preaching love and mercy and the ways of the Water Tribe and here I was, storming around, not being able to think of anything else but throttling that contentious Prince.

Had I become the very thing I was telling Sokka not to be? My cheeks flushed with shame. I was such a hypocrite. Gran-Gran would be very disappointed in me.

_She doesn't have to be._ I gathered myself and walked softly back to Zuko.

"You need to eat. It's been at least two days, you must be starving." I said as I stirred the soup and carefully brought a spoonful to his mouth.

He pursed his lips and turned his head, almost spilling the food in the violent quickness of his refusal. I sighed, took a deep breath and tried again.

"If you don't eat I'll call Appa over here and have him sit on your head." Zuko remained as unyielding as ever. Flames of anger crept back into my mind. I'd never had to deal with such stubbornness, even in Sokka!

Wait... yes I had... When I'd had to babysit Aunt Komata's little boy. He'd had to take medicine but he'd refused to open his mouth. What had Aunt Komata done?

I reached forward and pinched Zuko's nose. In reflex, his mouth opened to breathe, and I put the spoon in. A look of shock crossed his face as he swallowed.

_That's right Prince Zuko. You've been outsmarted by a Water Peasant. _I grinned at the thought.

"That's not-" When he opened his mouth again to protest I simply spooned another bit in.

I outsmarted him through the entire bowl of soup. "Look at that, you've finished the whole thing! What a good boy!" I patted him on the head and walked back to the fire, ignoring his frustrated growls and insults.

A cold wind blew that night. I pulled my sleeping bag up to my ears and relished the warmth. I was half-way into a good dream when my eyes flew open in sudden realization. Zuko was still in nothing more than the tunic and pants. He must be freezing!

_Why should that bother you? _A voice in the back of my head that sounded a lot like Sokka spoke up.

"Because even an enemy should not freeze if it is in your power to bring him warmth." I said to the darkness. I crawled reluctantly from my warm cocoon and threw my parka over Zuko's sleeping frame. The cold stung me immediately and I almost ran to my sleeping bag when something occurred to me.

Zuko wasn't even shivering. He didn't even look cold. A faint blush of red tinged his cheeks, almost as if he were...

"Warm" I said in amazement as I brushed a finger over his jawline. The touch sent prickles of electricity up my arm. I gasped, jumped back, tripped over a rock, and fell very ungracefully on my bottom.

"It was just the heat. You weren't expecting the warmth." I said to myself as I buried myself back in the safety of my bedroll. "It was just the warmth."


	5. Chapter 5

**Dangerous Ground**

**Chapter Five**

"That was some night." Sokka said, rubbing his shoulders over the rebuilt fire. "I thought it only got that cold back home."

"It's winter here." Aang explained. "The nights are only going to get colder. We should probably find a shelter."

"I bet there are some caves in those mountains." Sokka pointed east at the hedge of craggy peaks that stood like teeth against the horizon.

"Then we'd better get going. Quickly." Aang looked up, into the dark mass of clouds that writhed in the sky and opened his palm in time to catch a raindrop.

_Splot_ I felt a large, cold raindrop land on my head. _Splot splot splot._ Three dark blue spots appeared on my dress. We packed up in a record-fast amount of time and climbed Appa's back just as the full fury of the storm was unleashed.

"Think we're getting close?" Aang's brow furrowed as he looked at the fluffy carpet beneath him. The storm's immense cloud-cover obscured even the highest mountains beneath us.

"We should go down and look." I advised, though I was less-than-enthusiastic about having to endure the winter's rain.

"Yip Yip!" Aang shouted and Appa plunged into the icy mist.

Suddenly, my world changed from one of soft, harmless clouds dancing beneath the sunshine to one of wild, lashing rain and driving wind that tore through my clothes and bit my skin voraciously.

I waterbended an umbrella over Appa, but I could only hold it up for so long. My strength gave out long before we reached the mountain caves. Wet, shivering, and exhausted, we groped our way into the first cave we could find.

"Winter, eh, Aang? Why couldn't you tell us this BEFORE we entered the land of sub-zero temperatures?" Sokka grumped from a corner of the cave. I suspect Aang might have come back with a witty reply if his teeth had not been chattering so hard. I hugged my knees and concentrated on waterbending the chilly rain out of my clothes and hair.

Ah, that was better. At least I wasn't wet anymore. But I was still freezing. I looked around the cave for something to make a fire with. After several minutes of searching, I came up with some twiggy things and some mossy things that all grew in the dark damp of the cave. I set them in a pile on the floor and rolled up my sleeves as I began to work on getting a spark out of the flint stone we'd brought.

After at least fifteen minutes, I gave up. Sokka and Aang each took a turn, but it was just too damp to nurture a flame. I cast a look at the boys, knowing that if we didn't get warm soon we could all fall into the eternal sleep. I'd seen it happen back home. Desperation bit at the edge of my thoughts. There had to be something...

Zuko! Still lashed tightly to Appa's back, Zuko was persistently working on trying to break the ropes when I walked up to him. I touched his shoulder. Sure enough, he was not only dry, but wonderfully warm.

"Zuko, please, we need-"

"Forget it!" He cut me off before I could even finish my request.

"Come on! Can't you do one decent thing?" My voice rose and shook in frustration at the fussy Prince. I stopped myself before my temper got out of control. Starting again, this time calmly and soothingly, I entreated him. "Maybe we could work out something? An exchange? There must be something that you want that I could give you." I felt his eyes sweep over me, and the meaning of my words suddenly caught me. I felt a blush warm my frozen cheeks.

"There's nothing I want from _you._" He spat. The embarrassed blush quickly turned to one of anger.

_Remember Gran-Gran._ I calmed myself.

"How about your arms untied?" That caught his attention.

"What? Are you crazy? He'll roast us!" Sokka said through chattering teeth.

"No he won't. He's in no shape to fight right now. He can't even breathe heavily without hurting his ribs. Besides, he'll need his arms untied to firebend, anyway." I reasoned.

"For how long?" Zuko asked, his eyes narrowed at me calculatingly.

"As long as we're in the cave." I said.

"No. I want them released permanently." He lifted his chin in defiance.

I thought for a moment. He wouldn't be a threat until his ribs were healed, and that was still at least a week or two away.

"Fine. But if you so much as twitch in a threatening manner the ropes go back on." I said, trying my best to sound commanding. It must not have worked, because all I got from Zuko was a smirk.

"Fine." He lay still as I began to untie the ropes and metal twine around his wrists.

He was free. I sat back. The entire cave was hushed. Aang stood tensed and ready, Sokka gripped his boomerang and held it in a strike pose, I stretched my hand toward a puddle, ready to water-whip him if he tried something funny.

But nothing happened. He stretched his arms in front of him and flexed them, working out the kinks that had built up over the past two days. He winced and brought one hand to his chest, pressing it against the offending rib.

"You should try to move as little as possible and let it heal." I said, slowly relaxing. He grunted at me and pushed himself up, letting out a growl of pain as he deliberately ignored my advice.

Before any of us could react, he flicked his wrist, letting a blaze of fire spin through the air from his palm. I yelled and grabbed his shoulder, sure that he had gone back on his word.

But instead of hearing one of the boys complain of a burn, I heard a Aang give a whoop of delight. I looked over and saw a lovely little blaze lick at the moss and twigs I'd gathered earlier. Turning back to face Zuko I was met with his usual smirk.

"What's the matter, Katara? Don't trust me?" His eyes bore into mine and I couldn't help noticing how they mirrored the golden flame in front of us. I was hypnotized until they narrowed in disgust at me.

"I would not go back on my word. I have more honor than that. But what would a Water Peasant know of honor?"

Aghhh! I balled my fists. How was it that he always managed to find a way to push my buttons? Well, I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing that he'd angered me. With an indifferent 'hmmf' I climbed off Appa and joined the boys around the fire.

"You can just go without supper tonight!" I said in parting.

Dinner was eaten in cheerful silence as the water slowly evaporated and cold-numbed extremities were slowly warmed. Aang and Sokka ate with their usual enthusiasm, but I picked at my food, Zuko's words swimming around my mind like Koi fish.

_How dare he! What kind of personal vendetta does he have against the world, anyway?_ _What did I ever do to him?_

_Well, you did tie him up. _

_Yeah, but he's dangerous. We had to tie him up. That doesn't mean he has to be such a..._

_You know, you haven't been exactly the paragon of charity yourself, Katara._

_Yes I have! Well, even if I haven't, he deserved it!_

_Mmm hmm, and you probably managed to reinforce all the lies he's been fed since birth about the Water Tribes._

Chastised by my conscience I got up and brought him some of the roasted nuts we'd picked through for dinner.

"I thought I was 'going without supper tonight.'" He mimicked me in a high-pitched voice.

_Keep your head, Katara._

"Yeah, well, I changed my mind. Even an enemy doesn't deserve to go hungry." I dropped the nuts on his lap. He glared at me for a while, then slowly started to eat. I watched him, studying his movements. As he brought the food to his mouth, his sleeve slipped back, revealing the ugly blue of a bruise. I realized that it must have been from the rope. I bit my cheek. I should have checked to see if the ropes were too tight. Why hadn't he complained? Suddenly filled with guilt I brought the canteen up and reached for his hand.

"What are you doing?" He demanded, snatching his wrist away from my grasp.

"You're hurt, I want to heal you." I gripped his wrist and brought it toward me. He tried to resist but the effort brought a spasm of pain from his ribs that immediately convinced him to obey.

I streamed the water out of the canteen and wrapped it in a soothing band around my hand. I was aware of his golden eyes watching my every move. Reaching carefully forward, I gripped his wrist.

There it was again! A tingle of electricity that shot up my arm and seemed to penetrate my heart. I gasped. Zuko's body jolted and he tried to pull away from me. I began to wonder if he'd felt it too, but then his next words dispelled my speculation.

"That's cold!" So it was just that the water was cold. I felt a wave of disappointment. If he'd felt it too then at least it wouldn't mean that I was going crazy. I shook the idea out of my head and concentrated on the healing. Maybe it was just a new part of my healing skills. Or maybe it was just something that happened when healing Firebenders.

I opened my eyes and smiled in satisfaction at my work. There wasn't so much as a scratch left. Zuko forgot himself for a moment and let a look of awe cross his face.

"Pretty cool, huh?" I smiled.

"I suppose it must be a cool trick to a Waterbender who's never been exposed to the more advanced and higher form of Firebending." Zuko said, recovering his usual pain-in-the-butt attitude.

I shook my head and willed my voice to remain calm. "You forget, Zuko, I've seen more than my share of Firebending. It's that 'advanced and higher form' that tore my family apart."

"Then why did you do it?" His question was out almost before I'd finished my sentence.

"Why did I do what?"

"Why did you heal me?"

"Because you were in pain."

"Why did you put that blanket on me the other night?"

I could feel a blush creep over my face. He'd been awake? He must have felt me run my hand over his face, then. I prayed that the blush was hidden by the darkness of the cave. I certainly hadn't meant the touch in _that_ way.

"Because you were cold."

"Why did you save me?"

"Because we couldn't let you die."

"Why!" Zuko's voice was now a shout. The boys looked up in surprise and Zuko grabbed his ribs and made a face.

"Why, if the Fire Nation has done so many bad things to you, why would you see to my... my _comfort?_" He continued, quieter this time.

"Because it is the way of my people to be merciful." A streak of hope flashed over my face. Maybe he would understand! Maybe he would stop-

"Mercy" He sneered, giving me a condescending glare "Mercy. A Water Tribe word for weakness."

I shook my head. How could he not understand?

"Anyone can be cruel, Prince Zuko. Anyone can learn to hate and to kill and to destroy. It takes courage and strength to show mercy. Anyone can abuse an enemy that has hurt them. It takes self-control to heal him." I turned and began to climb off Appa, leaving Zuko to himself and his thoughts for the rest of the night.


	6. Chapter 6

**Dangerous Ground**

**Chapter Seven**

Aang and Sokka left early that day to go to the village. We'd run out of money and food, and the boys had decided to see if they could find an odd-job to do among the bustling merchants and hagglers.

It was my job to stay at camp and watch the prisoner. I thought I'd certainly gotten the short end of the stick on this deal. I sighed as I swept up the cinders of last night's fire, trying to ignore the bitter silence that filled the cave now that Aang and Sokka had left.

It only lasted a short while. Soon, I couldn't take it any more. I knew I was just asking for another match of verbal sparring, but it was better than stewing in silence.

"Thank you for, um, not trying to escape." _That was lame, Katara. Good job. _

He just shrugged. "I'm not going to get far if I do, now, will I?" There was that condescending voice again.

"You know, you don't have to talk to me like I'm a child. I'm probably about the same age as you." I quipped.

"Well, aren't you a big girl." That sounded familiar. I gritted my teeth and tried a different tack.

"So, it must have been nice growing up a Prince, huh?" I watched as Zuko laughed bitterly until the pain in his ribs made him stop.

"And what makes you think that?"

"I don't know. I guess I just always thought it would be nice to grow up in a palace with servants and everything you could ever want."

"The Fire Nation doesn't cater to that kind of soft-fleshed pampering that you Water Tribes adhere to. A son of the Fire Nation's Royalty is trained to be a warrior, and that training has nothing to do with servants and palaces."

So I had been right. "Is that how you got all those scars?" I asked, letting my eyes slide over his tunic.

"What scars?" Zuko stiffened and narrowed his eyes at me. Uh-oh. I hadn't told him about the night we brought him back to camp after the tree fell on him. Suddenly, I felt a flush of discomfort at having to tell him that I'd partly undressed him.

"Well, I had to see if your ribs were broken or not, and I saw that there were scars and..." I trailed off. When I looked up, Zuko was smirking at me, enjoying my awkward moment.

"I suppose you don't get to see many men without their shirts in the arctic, hm?" He asked irritatingly.

"It wasn't that big a deal." I huffed.

"Then why are you blushing?"

"I'm not blushing! It's just warm in here!" I growled and tried to hide the fact that I was wearing mittens. He gave me one of those irritating smirks. And then I lost it.

"Ooh! Why do you have to be so.. so... Aghhhh!" I threw my hands in the air stormed to the edge of the cave and into the forest outside, just as the boys were coming back from their trip into town.

"Hey Katara! Where are you going?" Aang called after me, worry tinging his voice.

"For a walk." I said more harshly than I'd meant to. What was it about Zuko that brought out the worst in me?

Day dawned bright and clear, a stark contrast to the wintry, drippy, icy night that we'd just endured. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and poked the dying embers of the fire. Aang was sprawled in the corner, completely zonked out and drooling a little into the corner of his shirt. Sokka was leaning against the cave wall, clutching his boomerang and snoring soundly. I giggled. Good job, Sokka. Way to keep us safe.

Speaking of safe... I peeked over the shaggy hump of Appa's shoulder to where Zuko lay. I knew better now than to assume he was asleep. I stuck my tongue out at him. It was childish, I knew, but it felt sooo good. I giggled to myself and began to make breakfast for the little group.

It didn't take long before the smell of food roused Sokka.

"G'mfrrrfing Kthhhawmmmf" He greeted me through half-closed eyes. Sokka never was a morning person.

"Ooh! Platypus bear eggs!" Aang shouted, jumping to ceiling as the aroma drifted his way. I smiled. It felt good to make them happy. At least I could make _some_ people happy.

"Could you possibly keep it down? Some people are meditating." Well, it looked like Mr. Sunshine was up.

"Good morning!" I said in an insanely cheerful manner as I passed a plate of eggs over Appa's shoulder. Zuko cracked an eye open at me and frowned.

"I don't want your disgusting food." He snarled.

"Oooh, someone's not a morning person." I quipped.

"Every son of the Fire Nation rises with the sun. We just usually have enough respect and self-control to meditate and absorb its energy before we go flying around like ignorant peasants."

"Well, I'm so sorry to bother you, _Your Highness_, if there's anything this ignorant peasant can do to make you more comfortable, please let her know." I bowed.

"How about untying me?" He waved his hands over his still-bound legs. He'd obviously been working on the knots, as I could see the frayed edges sticking out at odd angles around the edges, but Sokka had made extra sure to tie them so that they only come undone with a knife.

"Sorry, my prince, but I'm just a simple water peasant and I don't know how to untie knots." I batted my eyelashes at him innocently and swaggered back to the fire to help clean up the breakfast mess.

The boys had had good fortune on their last trip to town, and would be going back today, as well. Each night Aang would bring back some other little tidbit of knowledge about the secret earthbender resistance army and I would sit in rapt attention. Could these be the saviors of the world? They certainly sounded magnificent. I sighed. I could only imagine what it would be like to meet one of these brave warriors. Sokka brought home the things he'd earned each day. Usually it was food and a couple gold pieces, but every once in a while he's surprise me with a pretty shell or a comb he'd gotten as a bonus.

I took a few trips into town myself, but they never lasted long. Somehow, the care and feeding of a certain irascible Prince had fallen under my list of duties, and I always had to get back in time to deal with him, whether in force-feeding him something or keeping Sokka from killing him over some insult he'd made.

It was getting tiring. It had already been a week and I was looking forward to the day when I could cut him loose and let him go free. Of course, we'd had to untie him every once in a while, to restore the circulation in his legs and to let him take care of certain needs, but it was never for long. I knew he wouldn't try to escape. He simply couldn't right now, but that didn't mean he couldn't try to hurt Aang or Sokka or myself.

...It had been a full two weeks before I'd had it up to _here_ with him.

"The Water Tribes are _not_ inferior!" I yelled, throwing my broom to the ground.

"Of course they are. They have years and years to go before they could ever dream to reach the technological and elemental advancement of the Fire Nation." He said, crossing his arms and then immediately regretted it as his ribs protested.

"How does that make them superior? Killing people more efficiently makes them better?"

"Well, you don't see the Fire Nation losing the war, do you?"

"I'll have you know the Water Tribes have made great strides in the fields of healing and medicines."

"So?"

"Well, that's a lot more useful than knowing how to kill people."

"Really? Then tell me why you're losing the war." There was that smirk again.

"Because of people like you! People that don't even know how to show mercy." I spat. Something flashed across the Prince's face, the same faraway pain that I'd seen that day when I asked him why he didn't just live in his own homeland.

"You should get to know people before you judge them, Katara."

It was a slap in the face that sent me spinning. I had done it again. I'd become the very person I was always warning Sokka not to be. I groaned inwardly. I opened my mouth to apologize, but before I could get the words out Zuko's face hardened in anger and he spoke with as much vehement force as his ribs would allow.

"To show mercy is a mistake. Mercy is for the weak. I will not be weak again." He added the last part in a mumble that I could barely catch. I wanted to press it, but I'd spent enough time around Zuko by now to know when I was treading on dangerous ground, and my the tone of his voice this was it.

I let silence fill the cave for a while. Zuko's face was chiseled stone, but I could see in the amber flicker of his eyes that in internal battle was raging. _What happened to him to make him like this? _I traced the scar on his face with my eyes. _What lies in your past, Zuko?_

It was handy to have a firebender around. We could get careless with tending the fire because all Zuko had to do was flick his wrist and immediately a lively flame would spring up to dance among the embers. I had to admit, I admired his skill.

It was a cold morning, and I was floating on the hazy edge of sleep. I knew I should get up and make breakfast, but I also didn't want to leave the protective warmth of the blankets. It was then that I noticed an unusual rhythm of light and dark flicker in front of my closed eyes.

I snapped my eyes open and almost screamed when I saw the fire blaze and then die, blaze and die, blaze and die as if it had life of its own. I sat up straight, filled with fear at the strange phenomenon. I scooted away from the fire and looked around to see what could be causing the fire dance. That's when I looked up and caught Zuko's face, taunt in concentration, as he manipulated the flames without even moving.

I remained silent and watched him.

_What must it be like, to have fire always in you? _I contemplated as I watched the striking dance of flame. _The nature of fire is power, anger, destruction, passion... what must it be like to have that element rule you?_

I played with a puddle of water on the cave floor, feeling the water move at my command, feeling it push and pull with me, passive, healing, soothing. The opposite of fire. Maybe that's why he couldn't understand. Maybe fire was just never meant to coexist with water peacefully. Well, it wouldn't be much longer. It had already been almost two weeks, and Zuko's ribs would probably be almost mended by now.

"Lay down." I brought a canteen up and settled next to Zuko, who looked at me as if I'd just told him to fetch my slippers.

"Excuse me?" He growled.

"I have to check your ribs, make sure they're healing properly." I said.

"I don't want your healing." He said, scooting away from me.

"I don't care if you want it or not. The sooner you heal, the sooner you're out of my hair." I didn't mean to sound so barbarous, but his defiance was getting more and more tiresome each day.

"Forget it." He snapped. I sighed and rolled my eyes. I put one hand to his forehead and gently pushed him back. Unable to use his chest muscles, he was powerless.

"Now, are you going to or am I?" I pointed to the buttons on his tunic. He sighed, seeing that he wasn't going to win this one, and unbuttoned them himself. I worked hard to keep the blush out of my cheeks, and was horrified to think that I was fighting a losing battle. I bent my head over my work and willed myself not to get flustered. What was I? Some silly little school girl?

I carefully pressed the spots on his chest where I remembered healing a bruise. He hissed and pushed my hands away. Obviously, there was still a little more time to go before he was all better. I wished I knew how to heal bone, if such a thing were even possible. I began to regret shunning the healing instruction offered at the North Pole.

"I'm sorry. I wish I knew how to heal this." I murmured as I ran a finger over his rib cage. "I guess I'm just as much a failure as you think I am."

"I don't think you're a failure." I snapped my head up to face Zuko. Had he actually said that?

"Uncle says that the elements balance each other. Each one is necessary to maintain order and life on earth. Water may be weaker, but it has a sense of power, too. Though far inferior to that of fire." I smiled. I guess that was about as close as I was ever going to get as far as a compliment from Zuko.

Then, a question crossed my mind. I didn't want to spoil the moment, but I had to ask it. "So why is your father so bent on destroying the other nations?" Zuko stiffened for a moment, and I could tell he was weighing whether or not to speak.

"Father does not believe as Uncle does. They... disagree on... many things."

"And what do you believe?" I pierced him with my eyes. _Tell me the truth Zuko, not what you've been force-fed your entire life._

Zuko's eyes betrayed a whirling of emotions so strong I almost took a step back.

"I am a loyal son of Lord Ozai!" He shouted at me. Hmm, his ribs must be feeling better after all.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"How dare you question the beliefs of the Fire Prince!" He balled his fists. I could see flames licking at the edges of his palms and the room felt suddenly, unbearably hot. Dangerous ground. Somehow I'd stumbled onto it again.

"I'm not trying to be arrogant. I'm trying to understand how you can seemingly believe one way and yet act in another. How can you believe that the balance of nations is good, and yet still try to capture Aang?" I felt frustration building inside of me. If only he'd talk. If only he'd open a crack in those cursed walls around himself and let me see who he really was.

"I am in exile! I disgraced my father and my nation, and until I bring the Avatar back, I will remain without honor, without country, without my father's -" He stopped himself as a stunned look crossed his face. He'd said too much for his own comfort.

"What?" I clung to the conversation, willing him to open up just a little more...

"Never mind. It's none of your concern." He turned from me and rested on his side, once again signaling the end of our conversation.


	7. Chapter 7

**Dangerous Ground**

**Chapter Seven**

The next few days went surprisingly well, however. Zuko, although getting his ability to yell back, seemed to need to do so less often. He accepted his food without (much) complaint and didn't antagonize Sokka as much. The tension that had hung so thickly in the camp for the past two and a half months now seemed to be dissipating like the sun hitting fog.

I was so happy in the newfound peace that I decided to celebrate. The boys had gone to town to try and earn a fish for dinner, and to gather more information of the Earthbending army. That left me plenty of time to do something fun before they could get back and spoil it.

"Want to take a walk down to the river?" I aimed the question at Zuko, who was meditating on the ebbing fire from breakfast.

"Why would I want to do that?" He grumbled.

"Because, it'll be good for you!" I said cheerfully. "You've been cooped up for a long time. You want to have all your strength when you start rabidly chasing the Avatar again, don't you?" I teased, tugging lightly on his tunic. He hid a grin and shrugged me off.

"What if I try something funny? What if I kidnap you and use you as bait to capture the Avatar?"

We both laughed a little over that. "You're in no condition to capture anyone, mister. Now, are you coming or not?" I gently cut the ropes around his legs and held my hand out to help him stand. Of course, he refused my help, but I'd come to expect that from Zuko.

"It's cold out there. Here, wear this." I threw him a cloak. He rolled his eyes but accepted it. I left my heavy parka for the lighter cloak, figuring that we'd be back long before it turned cold.

The river was beautiful. It sparkled beneath a sheet of shimmering ice, the water reflecting the brilliant-but-cold sunlight like a thousand tiny mirrors. I caused the ice to rise and fall, sent the waves spiraling and twisting into shapes which I froze and melted at my whim.

"Look! I made Aang!" I pointed at the ice sculpture I'd created in the rough image of Aang.

"His head is too big." Zuko frowned and shot a blast of flame at the figure, melting the head down to a pea-sized ball on the shoulders.

"Hey! You ruined it!" I laughed and bent a water whip to snake around his ankle and pull him over.

His boot became engulfed in flame, immediately transforming the snake into steam.

"Okay hot-shot, try this." I threw a water ball at him, which he easily deflected.

A shout! I whirled around to find myself face-to-torso with a seven-foot, burly man. He wore a green tunic that barely covered his muscle-bound bulk, and hefted a viscous looking axe in his right hand.

"Look, Amhan! I told you I saw smoke! They're firebenders sure enough." He lifted me by the back of my collar and stared at me straight in the eye. Before he could question me any further, though, a bolt of fire hissed by the man's head, singing the ends of his mustache. The man ducked and dropped me, sending me sprawling onto the ice.

I felt a hand grip my shoulder. It was Zuko. He pulled me to my feet and pushed me behind him as he set himself in an attack stance, hands consumed in fire.

Enraged, the burly man began to walk out onto the ice. Zuko sent a few fireballs at him, but the man evaded them and kept coming. We backed out further onto the ice. He seemed to have had some experience fighting Firebenders, as he was able to apprehend and dodge the attacks with speed and agility that seemed out of place in the enormous man. But Zuko wasn't deterred, he kept flinging fire, and managed to keep the man at bay. I quickly waterbended a flurry of attacks, which sent the man spiraling into the woods.

But our troubles weren't over. At least twenty men, all dressed in the same green cloth as the first man, soon materialized from the wood. We were badly outnumbered, and Zuko was in no shape to fight even one person. I glanced at him. He was panting shallowly and clutching his ribs, barely able to keep up with the attack.

And now we had another problem. We were in the middle of the river, and Zuko was putting off an enormous amount of heat. I heard the ice splinter and crack, and suddenly I was no longer standing up, I was sinking.

I should have anticipated the crack. I should have waterbended out of there, but the cold hit me like a sledgehammer and I felt myself sinking into blackness. Air slipped from my mouth, life left me as my breath did. I tried to focus, tried to bend the river to my will...

And then two powerful hands were pulling me up like a fish from the river. I gasped, shivering on the snow-crusted ground.

"What do you want to do with them, Onan?" I heard a voice say through the hazy fog of cold that clouded my brain.

"Throw them in the dungeon. We'll have Taikai deal with them when he comes." I felt myself lifted again, slung across a wide, burly back. I tried to resist, but the arm that held me was packed with more muscles than I'd thought were possible.

Earthbender. He was an earthbender. And he thought I was a Fire Bender. I struggled, but he only gripped me tighter. I tried to explain, but I was shivering too hard. Then my world went black.


	8. Chapter 8

**Dangerous Ground**

**Chapter Eight**

I hit the ground hard. I felt the breath knocked out of me and I struggled to regain it while looking around at the dank little cell I was now in. It seemed to be carved out of a mountain, with a thick door separating it from the rest of the compound. A tiny light trickled in, letting icy air in with it. I pushed myself against the rock and gasped at the cold. It seemed to pour from everywhere. I focused my trembling hands on waterbending the freezing water from my clothing, but it hardly helped. My body was almost completely numb. I pulled myself into a little ball and tried to get warm, but my body simply wasn't making any heat.

This had happened to Chai. She'd gone wandering in a blizzard and had come back almost frozen. She'd died before they'd been able to warm her. I could still remember the white color of her face. Her skin had been so, so cold. Was I going to die like this? I looked up at Zuko, who was pacing the cell, looking for a way to escape, no doubt. He seemed fine. Warm, even. Maybe I could ask him to build a fire.

_With what, Katara? _I asked myself. There was nothing in the cave but icy water and icier air. _I'm going to die like this._ I couldn't accept it. But, as time passed, it began to matter less and less to me.

I was floating.

I couldn't feel myself anymore, which was good. I had been starting to feel pretty crummy for a while there.

This was fun. I was floating away...

...away...

The world started to swim in front of my eyes.

I laughed, but the sound that came out wasn't a laugh.

It was a funny sound.

I saw Zuko turn to look at me.

Funny, I'd never noticed how handsome he was...

I laughed again. So funny. Funny delirious Katara.

I thought I saw a polar bear dance around the cell with momo. Silly Katara.

More laughing.

Was he worried?

Sexy Zuko. I wanted to kiss him.

I wasn't worried. I was flying. Couldn't he see that?

I saw Appa. And Aang! And Sokka! They were all watching me fly.

And then the world slowly faded to black.


	9. Chapter 9

**Dangerous Ground**

**Chapter Nine**

It was so nice to be back in my own bed. Papa must have given me another blanket, because I'd never been this warm in my entire life. I knew I should get up and help Gran-Gran make breakfast, but it was just so deliciously hot under these blankets.

Almost too hot. I reached out to tug the blankets off and I felt my hand collide with something hard. I furrowed my brow._ What in the world? _I slowly opened my eyes.

Instead of the cheerful blue of my tent's walls, I found myself surrounded by a black, murky cave. Instead of the warm furs of my bed, I realized I was instead wrapped in layers of rough walking cloaks. I felt my heart sink into my stomach as I realized where I was In an explosion of memory.

Focusing straight ahead of me in the near-dark, I reached my hand out again and felt for the source of the heat. As my eyes adjusted and lost the blurriness of sleep, an image formed. It was a body. A very, very warm body covered in sculpted muscles. I let my eyes traveled upwards and found myself staring into two golden orbs, burning with fire in the darkness.

"Zuko!"

A hand went over my mouth and I stifled the panic welling up in my chest. What was he doing? Why were we lying together, wrapped up in our clothes? Was he _naked?_

"Don't scream, you'll alert the guards." He warned me and his hand slowly lifted off my mouth. I took in shallow breaths and weighed my options. Right now, alerting a guard didn't sound like such a bad idea, but I decided to let him explain himself before I disobeyed him.

Without a word, he pushed himself upright. The cloaks slid off his frame to fall in a pile by his knees. I gasped in the cold and looked up at him, suddenly wishing for the warmth of his skin again. What I saw _did _bring warmth to me, but not because of shared body heat.

A stream of silvery moonlight was filtering in through one of the vents in the cave, outlining his muscular silhouette and bathing his face and body in a milky, ethereal light. I let my eyes wander over his strong, angular face, over his shoulders and his firm stomach, down to the silky pants he had worn beneath his armor.

_He's so beautiful_

I mentally slapped myself. What was I saying? I must still be suffering the effects of being cold for so long. I tried to shake myself out of it as I watched him gather the cloaks and begin to wrap me tightly in them.

"You had the cold sickness. It is rare among my people. Only the weakest get it. You are lucky I was trained in battlefield aide." He said as he finished wrapping me. I looked down at myself and noted that I looked very much like a smaller version of Appa. Not exactly pretty, but warm. It felt so good to be warm. My stomach twisted inside of me as I remembered the night before and how close I had come to death. The cold sickness may be rare for the Fire Nation, but it was all too common a reality among the Water Tribes, whose frigid homeland claimed many victims.

I looked up at Zuko, who had turned his back and was now pacing the walls. I noticed that he was still without a shirt. Fingering the many layers of fabric, I felt the soft, silky touch of his tunic beneath the two cloaks. He'd given it up for me. Picking out the negative words Zuko commonly sprinkled through his sentences, I realized that he'd just admitted that he'd intentionally helped me.

"You saved my life." I whispered. Zuko froze.

"No man with any honor lets a lady die in his presence if he can prevent it." He didn't look at me when he said it, only continued pacing. I stared at his back and felt a wall of anger rising in front of my eyes. How could he say such a thing when his nation was killing women and children every day as part of their ruthless subjugation of the world?

_His nation kills innocents, yes. But does he? _It was Gran-Gran's voice again. Gran-Gran's voice was getting annoying. It was forcing me to put aside the anger I wanted to feel toward him and remember the ways of my people.

_But does he? _She insisted. I wanted to say yes, but I had no proof. I'd never seen him actually kill or hurt someone, though he certainly had it in his power and ability to do so. Of course, he'd attacked Aang, but it had only ever been Aang. He'd never gone after me or Sokka. That could just have been because I (and certainly Sokka) weren't much of a threat, but it seemed unlikely.

Oh, he'd threatened and grandstanded, but that just seemed to be a Fire Nation trait. As I thought about it, I realized that even when he'd invaded my village to hunt for Aang, he had never hurt anyone. When he'd captured me to question me he'd not tortured me to get information. In fact, he'd almost been gentle.

"Thank you for... for what you did." I said softly.

"Forget it. Now we're even." He pounded on the rock and blasted it with fire, but it remained as firm as ever.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"I... I have your tunic."

"You need it more than I do."

The room fell silent for some time. I huddled against the cave walls, breathing into my hands to warm them. Already the iciness that permeated the tiny cell was beginning to seep into my clothing, but I willed myself not to think about it. Already the pale light of night was giving way to a creamy yellow of dawning sun. Maybe the cell would heat up as day came.

"Why is it so cold in here? Do they want to kill us?" I wondered aloud, just to break the silence.

"Not like this. They think you're a Firebender. They don't know you're subject to the cold." He settled down across from me on the cave floor. His face was drawn tightly in concentration as he looked at the ground. I began to think that if he continued to stare with such intensity, he might bore holes in the ground and we could escape that way.

"Do you have any ideas?" I asked timidly. I didn't want to break his concentration, but the silence was killing me.

"This cell was built for a Firebender. It's so small that if I were to try to melt the rock, the room would heat up and turn into an inferno before I even get halfway there. Even if I should try, I wouldn't get very far, as a good part of my strength is used in just keeping my body warm." He spoke to the floor, seemingly musing out loud.

A loud clang made both of us jump. Zuko stood in a fighting stance, one hand already blazing with fire. I crouched by the door, gathering up what little moisture I could find and concealing it in my fist. Slowly, the heavy metal door swung open, creaking on its hinges and scratching grooves in the earthen floor.

"Well, it looks like the lovebirds are up." An earthbender said with a leer as he pushed a bucket into the room with his toe. "Eat up. You'll need your strength for when you face Teikei tomorrow." And with that the door closed again, leaving us blinking and mulling over the Earthbender's foreboding words.

"I wonder who Teikei is." I thought out loud as I peered into the bucket. Zuko remained silent, staring into the darkness at the other end of the cell. I shrugged and began to pick items out of the bucket. There was some hard-crusted bread that had an earthy smell, along with a few dried and salted fish and a canteen of water.

"Want some?" I broke the loaf roughly in half and offered the larger piece to the Prince. He threw a disdainful look at the bread and then turned back to his silent musings.

"You don't have to be so rude. You could at least say 'no thank you'. I'm not the one that got us into this mess, you know." I said. I was cold, dirty, worried about Aang and Sokka, and in no humor to put up with Zuko's moodiness.

"It was your idea to go for a walk by the river." He retorted.

"Hey, they wouldn't have even bothered me if I hadn't been with a _Firebender_."

"And how do you know?"

"What would they want with me? I don't remember leading an army to take over their kingdom."

"You couldn't lead an army out of a knapsack."

"And you can't even catch a little boy!"

Fire crackled in the air as the room heated. Mmm, this was nice. I'd have to get Zuko angry more often, that way I might be able to enjoy a moment of warmth every once in a while.

"A water peasant could never fully appreciate the complexities of my strategies." He huffed and crossed his arms as smoke began to wisp around his fists.

"Strategies?" I snorted. "Looks like your _strategies _are doing wonders, Zuko." I spread my arms out against the backdrop of the murky cell walls.

He gave me a dark look and then turned his back to me. I celebrated inwardly and began to Waterbend the contents of the canteen. I'd won my first verbal battle against Zuko.

The golden cream of sunlight turned to pale white as the sun and moon changed guards over the sky. I sighed. An entire day had passed. The cave had turned deathly quiet after the little argument between me and Zuko, though I'd done my best to ignore it by waterbending. Soon, however, even waterbending became boring and I'd resorted to reciting poems in my head, then to picking all the fuzzballs out of my cape, and finally to drawing little stick-figures on the cave walls with sharp stones.

_You should make up with him. _

Make up with him? How could I do that? We'd never been 'up' to begin with. There was nothing to make up to!

_All the same..._

I sighed. Why did I have to be the one stuck in a cell with the snarling Fire Prince? Why couldn't it have been someone that _deserved _cruel and horrible punishment, like the Fire Lord himself. Maybe if they got stuck in a cell together daddy and son would work things out and we could all get on with our lives. Or, one would end up torched. Why did Firebenders have to be so volatile?

_Power, anger, destruction, passion. It is their element._

Well, I'm glad I'm not Fire Nation, then. Water is much better. Passive, healing, soothing. That beats fire any day.

_Listen to you, you're as bad as Zuko is! Have you learned nothing from your people? There must be balance in all things. Even water, if unbalanced, is a detrimental element_.

But how can water and fire balance each other? The two cannot exist without destroying each other.

This time, I had no answers. I sighed. Picking up the leftover bread and fish I brought it to Zuko and sat as close next to him as I dared.

"Here, you should eat this. Don't make me force feed you again." I said. Something flashed across his face. A smile? It was hard to tell in the deepening darkness of the cell. He reached forward and accepted the food.

He ate in silence. The dark of the cell became more intense, as did the cold. I wrapped my arms around my knees and focused on keeping warm, but unlike Zuko, I did not possess the ability to summon warmth to my body. I sighed as I gave up and started shivering. Fingers of ice ran through my blood, reclaiming the body that they'd lost the night before. My teeth chattered together despite my best efforts to keep myself still. The sound attracted Zuko's attention.

"Fools."

"Wh-wh-wh-haat?" I stuttered through my shuddering mouth.

"They should have made sure you were a firebender before they put you in here." He explained. I caught the movement of his hand as he reached up to rub his shoulders. Even as a Firebender he seemed to be getting cold without a shirt in the sub-zero cell. I realized that we could both be in danger tonight. Of course, there was one way to ensure we stayed warm...

No! I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't ask. He would take it as weakness.

_You could be saving his life, as well as your own._

Then let him ask!

_You said yourself that it would be weakness in his eyes to ask. He would never choose to appear weak. You must be the one to make the first move._

I sighed. I was losing too many arguments with myself.

"Z-Zuh-Z- Zuko..." I began. _What do I say? _I thought, anxiety creeping into my stomach. _Zuko, will you please sleep with me? Zuko, I want your warm body? Zuko..._

The fantasy requests only got worse from there, and I blushed as I realized what I'd been thinking about. Not that I wanted any of that... with Zuko. He was my enemy and I would sooner clean up after a flying bison's droppings than do _that _with my enemy.

"What?" He looked at me expectantly. I realized that I'd not given him my request yet. Okay, here goes...

"I...I wuh-w- was just t-t-t-thinking... I'm really cold... and you're g-g-g-going to get tired trying to keep yourself w-w-warm, and..." I trailed off, hoping that he'd just take the hint and not press the matter.

"Yeah? What about it?" He drew me out. I couldn't see his expression in the dark, but I could tell from the slow, innocent way that he spoke that he was teasing me. He was enjoying this! Aghh! If I didn't need his warmth I'd...

_Calm yourself, Katara. Just tell him what you want._

"I j-j-just thought... that... w-w-well, you know how you h-h-helped me when I had the c-c-cold sickness? Well, maybe we could do that again... t-t-tonight." I waited breathlessly for him to respond. It seemed to take an eternity.

"Even in all those clothes you can't stay warm? No wonder the water tribes are losing the war." Was his arrogant reply. I balled my fists and grit my teeth as I prepared to unleash a barrage of insults at him. But then I suddenly felt his hands on my neck.

Gently, carefully, they were untying the cords that held the cloaks on my shoulders. All the words that were going to come out of my mouth suddenly stuck to my throat like honey. A shiver passed through my body as the first cloak came off. I heard the rustle of cloth as he laid it on the ground.

"If we put a cloak on the floor it'll keep the cold in the ground from seeping into us." He explained as he began to untie the next cloak from around my shoulders. His touch was becoming more pronounced now as the layers were coming off. I heard the second cloak drop to the floor.

His fingertips were warm through the cloth as he reached forward to unbutton the tunic he'd let me wear. I was frozen, and this time it had nothing to do with cold. A man was undressing me. Not just a man, a Prince. My enemy. The last thought hardened me and I put my hands out to push him away, and that's when his fingers connected with the bare skin of my neck.

A jolt of electricity ran through me, sending every nerve in my body dancing beneath my tingling skin. I gasped as a shudder started at my neck and zinged all the way down to my toes. Zuko pulled his hand away quickly.

"It's cold" I complained, standing there in only my Water Tribe dress and the now-open tunic. I had to say something to cover up my gasp, and it was the best thing I could think of. Why did it sound familiar?

I felt his hand take mine firmly and lead me to the pile of cloaks. I was pulled down into the nest, his strong, masculine hands wrapping around my smaller ones and tugging me gently to him. Taking me in his arms he brought me against his chest.

I took in a sharp breath. It was so warm! Before I could stop myself I nuzzled into him, enjoying the feel of his arms around me.

ENJOYING! I almost jolted out of my skin. _You can't enjoy this! He's your enemy! _I scolded myself. How could I? I would be betraying my people if I was enjoying being in the arms of this spoiled Fire Prince brat.

_Nonsense. I'm not enjoying him. I'm just enjoying his warmth. _

_Yes... that's it. I'm enjoying his warmth._

_It's just the warmth._

Thanks to all the wonderful reviews! They are truly encouraging, and make the chapters come much more quickly.

Cold sickness is how I thought the characters at this time might think of hypothermia. Yes, that's what Katara had. Hypothermia (as I'm sure you all know) is characterized at its late stages as feeling numb, inability to speak, hallucinations, and finally coma and death if untreated. I hope that I conveyed this well.

This story has been very fun to write, but also a little challenging, as I've committed myself to telling it solely from Katara's POV. I've wanted quite a few times to switch to Zuko, but of course, you can't do that writing in the first person. So, I'm just going to try and convey his thoughts through his actions. This will come more later on.

Yes, I know, not a lot of fluff, like I promised. But IT WILL COME. It's just slow going because I really want to show the character's inner conflicts and thoughts and keep it believable. There must be character development, but not overnight. Hopefully, you'll bear with, and perhaps even enjoy, the romance as it buds.


	10. Chapter 10

**Dangerous Ground**

**Chapter 10**

I jumped up with a scream and looked around in bewilderment. All I knew was that I had been sleeping peacefully, lost in a blissful world that knew nothing of wars or enemies or prisons, only blessed darkness and warm, strong arms wrapped around me, and the next thing I knew that world had shattered for me at the sound of a horrible, grinding, metalic scraping. I realized, as the fogginess of sleep began to leave my brain, that the sound was from the cell door opening and shuddering against the rock walls.

Zuko was on his feet at my side, hands and eyes blazing in the pale light of dawn that seeped through the cell vents. I turned, clutching the cloaks as if they could somehow provide some protection. I felt naked without my element nearby. I'd gotten so used to having the handy water-skin always at my fingertips. Now I was at their mercy, with only my physical strength to protect me, which, looking down at my less-than-impressive biceps, was not something I was happy about.

"Get dressed. Teikei will see you now." The Earthbender guard growled as peeked through the open door.

"Who is Teikei?" Zuko demanded, raising his fire-engulfed hand threateningly. But the guard had already closed the door, and we were left alone to our wondering.

"Well, we'd better do as he says." I resigned myself. I gave Zuko his tunic back and wore only one of the cloaks. Hopefully it would be warmer wherever we were being taken. Gruesome thoughts filled my head as I finished dressing. _What will they do to me? Torture? Execution? _My hands trembled slightly as I tied the cloak under my chin. I hid them and looked up at Zuko, trying to catch a glimpse of what he might be feeling. _Is he afraid, also?_

Zuko's face was as stony and emotionless as usual. He didn't even seem nervous. His movements were calm, purposeful. I bit my lip and tried harder not to show my fear. I would not disgrace my people by appearing weak and afraid in front of the Fire Prince.

A guard came shortly after, bringing with him five others who tied our hands and led us through a maze of underground passageways. The red dirt and clay that formed the walls were made redder by the flickering light of torches placed at intervals down each hall. Shadows lept and nipped at my feet while cold drafts swirled around my neck and ankles and anywhere else my bare skin touched the air. I shivered, whether in cold or fear I didn't know, but the movement caught Zuko's attention, who frowned in disapproval.

_He thinks I'm weak. _I seethed quietly in anger. How dare he judge me!

_Maybe he's just concerned about you getting too cold again. _Yeah, right. Zuko, concerned? That was almost enough to make me start laughing right then and there. But all amusement I may have been feeling immediately died at the sight of a pair of sturdy earthen doors guarded on each side by Earthbender guards. They looked at me like a Komodo rhino might look at an offending mosquito.

I steeled myself as I was led inside. My insides sunk and my heart increased its tempo until all I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. I swept the room with my eyes. An enormous, vaulted ceiling yawned so far above my head that the quivering light from the torches barely touched its surface. The room was undoubtedly a war room, as it was decorated in several Earth Kingdom tapestries and symbols. The walls were hung with maps, which bore circles and lines indicating past or future war strategies. Grim-faced men sat in circles, pouring over parchments and more maps, faces drawn and fingers steepled in concentration.

I took a deep breath. No matter what terror awaited me here, I would not scream or beg or cry. I would bring honor to my family and my nation. With this conviction pounding in my head I lifted my chin, staring defiantly at the backs of the guards in front of me.

"Bring them forward." A voice boomed from the back of the room. I jumped and turned to face the sound. A dark figure wrapped in a green hooded cloak sat against the far wall, surrounded by a circle of rough-looking warriors. I felt myself propelled forward into their midst. Faintly I heard Zuko's footfalls and watched in silence as he walked around me and stood before the hooded man.

Zuko looked unflinchingly at the man, his back as straight as a walking stick and his chest puffed out in an attempt to look more threatening. His hands were clenched at his sides and I thought I could see wisps of smoke curling from between his knuckles, though he managed to contain the fire.

The hooded figure accepted the challenge and stood also, crossing his arms and leaning forward. The two were now inches apart and staring into each others eyes with such intensity that I thought one of them would surely drop dead at any moment. The tension increased and the air seemed to crackle, neither of them backing down, neither giving any ground.

I rolled my eyes. I'd seen Sokka do this with other boys back home, each one puffing himself up as much as he could in an attempt to look bigger than his rival. What was it with men? An eternity passed and I thought surely the Earthbender would wave his hand at any moment and have Zuko killed. But, despite my fears, the unexpected happened...

The hooded man laughed! It was a light, carefree laugh that reminded me greatly of Aang. But it wasn't Aang. The man threw back his hood, revealing a mop of greying hair and a leathered, weathered face that seemed to have seen many days and many struggles. This must be Teikei, the leader of the Earth Kingdom rebels.

"What have we here? The Fire Prince himself! I am honored to accept such a distinguished guest into my humble home." The Earthbender said as he bowed low. A stunned look crossed Zuko's face. I'm sure my expression was just as amazed. I'd been expecting a monster. A huge, burly Earthbender with meaty fists and a gnashing, snarling mouth. But this man... well, he was anything but.

Zuko, meanwhile, had recovered and now took a step forward. "I demand that you release me."

The Earthbender laughed again. The laugh was nice. It was gentle and light, a great contrast to my present surroundings, and entirely unexpected coming from the lips of an earthbender.

"My apologies, Prince, but as you know, a war is raging right now and that war happens to be with the Fire Nation, which makes you my prisoner."

"You will release me or I will kill you and all of your men!" Zuko shouted. Well, at least I knew his ribs were about healed now.

"That's a mighty big boast for one young man." The Earthbender said in a jovial, friendly manner, as if he were speaking to a sulky child.

"I am not just a man, I am a Firebender and the son of Fire Lord Ozai!" Zuko challenged, taking another step forward. I felt anxiety twinge at my stomach. What was Zuko doing? He was going to get himself or both of us killed! What did he think would happen if he killed their leader? That the rebels would just pat our heads, hand us a fruit basket and send us on our merry way?

But Teikei didn't seem nervous. In fact, I could see a touch of amusement light his eyes. He waved his hand as his guards, who grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back with them, leaving only Zuko and Teikei in a ring of about twenty feet.

More quickly than anyone could react, Zuko let out a ferocious yell and sent a ball of fire hurtling at the older man's head. Teikei raised his fist, bringing a wall of earth in front of his face so fast that the room shook. Zuko leapt on top of the wall and sent another attack raining down on Teikei's head.

The old man stepped back, letting the flames fall harmlessly at his feet, and then slammed his hand into his fist, sending the wall of earth crashing beneath Zuko's feet. The Prince arched his back and flipped in the air, landing gracefully a few feet from Teikei. In rapid succession Zuko sent flames spinning from his hands and feet, but Teikei blocked them all without even breaking a sweat.

I watched in breathless wonder as Zuko twisted and spun across the fighting ring, fire rippling around his body as if it were some exotic and deadly dancing partner, following his every move, obeying his lead. I'd seen him fight before, but always I had been more focused on Aang than Zuko. I'd never had a chance to truly appreciate the graceful, powerful moves of firebending.

_It would be such a beautiful element if it wasn't always being used to destroy._ I thought to myself as I watched Zuko throw attack after attack at Teikei, who only smiled and dodged. I realized suddenly that the old man had much more skill than I'd given him credit for. He hadn't made a single move to attack and yet he remained untouched.

_He's tiring Zuko out. _I thought to myself as I watched. And it seemed that that was indeed the old man's plan. Zuko was now breathing heavily and his skin had begun to glisten with sweat. The three weeks he'd spent unable to move because of his injuries was no doubt hindering his fighting ability now, and I was beginning to wonder if he would lose the match.

That is, until, with a lightning-fast move that earned a ripple of appreciative gasps from the guards, Zuko landed a kick against Teikei's face. The older man stumbled back a few paces and put a hand to his jaw, wiping away the trickle of blood that ran from his lip.

Teikei once again surprised me, as he his mouth widened in a delighted smile. Getting into an attack stance, he began to unleash a merciless set of attacks on Zuko, who blocked and evaded them as best he could. He tried returning attacks, but the effort only earned him a crushing blow to his shoulder. The two fought for several minutes before, finally, the older man came at Zuko with a combination of Earthbending forms that trapped the Prince beneath a pile of soil. Zuko let out a animal-like growl and burst through the earth, but by the time he freed himself Teikei was upon him. Knocking him again to the ground, Teikei straddled him.

Zuko twisted beneath the man and tried to throw him off, but Teikei grabbed his wrists and held them firmly beside Zuko's head. "I wouldn't struggle or firebend if I were you." Teikei warned, his voice losing it's jovial tone for the first time since we'd met him. "I am holding a three hundred pound boulder over your head, and any break in my concentration could mean death for you."

Zuko looked up and immediately stopped squirming as he noticed the rock floating just feet above him.

"You're good. I have to admit, you're the first person in twenty years to land a kick on me." Teikei rubbed his bruised jaw gingerly against his shoulder. "Most of the Fire Nation soldiers are poorly-trained boys still wet behind the ears. It was nice to once again face someone who's mastered the art."

"Yeah, it was real fun. Now what do you want?" Zuko spat.

"Mm. Typical Firebender temper. Perhaps your girlfriend can tame it, eh?" Teikei said teasingly. Zuko's eyes narrowed and he growled threateningly at the man, who only laughed again. I hid a smile. It was kind of nice to see Zuko get humbled a little. Maybe his ego would drop a few pegs now.

"Stop wasting my time, earth peasant, and let me go." So much for wishful thinking.

"Very well. Now, you know as well as I do that I can't let you go. Not only are you the Prince of the Fire Nation, but you now know where our base is located, also. I'm not so stupid as to think that you'll betray your people and fight on our side, but-"

"Get to the point." Zuko said testily. Teikei ignored him and continued.

"My men are good fighters, but I have suddenly found myself with many new recruits who have never had experience fighting firebenders. My proposition to you is this: You can stay in that dank, freezing cell for the rest of the war, which could last years, or you could fight my men, giving them a chance to train against a firebender. I'm sure this will not be something your are unaccustomed to doing." Teikei smirked. "In return, you will be treated as if you were a brother. You will enjoy a bright, comfortable living space, hot meals among the rest of my men, and all your wants provided for."

"Forget it! I would rather die than train worthless earthbending scum!" Zuko snarled, flames sparking at his fingertips.

"Suit yourself." Teikei pushed himself off of Zuko and brushed off his pants as he stood up. He nodded to his guards, who lifted Zuko and dragged him away, shouting and snapping in typical Zuko fashion.

I realized at that moment that I was alone in a room full of earthbenders who were convinced I was the enemy. How long had it been since they'd seen a woman? Shivers ran up my spine as I remembered the horror stories I'd overheard my aunts telling when they thought I'd gone to sleep, stories of what enemy nations did to captured women. I tried my best to imitate Zuko's intimidation stance, straightening my back and puffing out my chest, but it in no way had the same effect as Zuko. I looked more like an overinflated duckling than a ferocious warrior.

"Don't be afraid, young lady." Teikei said with a kind smile. "We are an honorable people. You will be treated with the respect deserved of all women as long as you stay here." He sat down and motioned to a cushion on the floor next to him. I sat down silently, watching him as he dismissed the guards and then leaned against the wall in a relaxed pose.

"Though the Fire Prince's face is well known across the four nations, your fame is sadly less known. What is your name, my dear?" The quiet, gentle rhythm of his voice was welcome after the harsh environment I'd endured over the last few days. Finally! Now I could explain away this whole mix-up. Now they'd let me go and I could run back to Aang and Sokka and tell them about the Earthbender army and Aang could learn Earthbending and he could save the world and-

"My name is Katara. I'm a waterbender, not a firebender. I was just taking a walk with Zuko, because he was my prisoner, but I guess he's yours now. I'm glad, he was really getting to be a royal pain. But anyway, I'm friends with Aang, the Avatar, and I'm helping him learn how to bend all the elements. Now, if you just let me go I'll go get him and-"

I was cut short as Teikei held up and a hand and began to laugh. "Hold on there Katara. Let me get this straight. You are a waterbender. Not a firebender. That is reasonable. I could tell that much from your clothing. But what is this? You say that the Avatar has returned?"

I nodded.

"And not only has he returned, but he's also your close personal friend?"

I got a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"And somehow, while on your travels with this- what is it by now- 112 year old man, you managed to apprehend and capture the crown prince of the Fire Nation."

"Well, it wasn't quite-"

"You must be some fighter, my dear Katara, for even I had trouble beating him and I've had forty years of fighting experience." He stroked his chin thoughtfully as he gazed at me.

"I had help." I tried to explain, but he continued again before I could get any more out.

"Then, you took your prisoner for a walk with you. You did not bind his hands or put ropes on his ankles to keep him from running. My, that's quite generous of you! If only the Fire Nation were that trusting of its prisoners, a great number of my men might escape back to me."

"But he couldn't-"

"Listen, Katara, you seem like a nice girl. But I've lived long enough on this earth to know that people are not always as they appear. You must admit, your story is a bit hard to believe."

"What are you saying?" I felt anger and fear mingle in my stomach, a bitter poison that made me want to vomit. I felt my hopes die like the last rays of a sinking sun.

"I'm saying, Katara, that it is not unheard of for a bender to switch sides, for whatever reasons."

I jumped up from my seat, my fists trembling in anger at what Teikei was suggesting. "Are you calling me a traitor?" I shouted. "How dare you think that I would betray my people! Just because-"

"My men found you and the firebender walking together by the river. They also noticed that you two shared...intimate closeness while you slept." Teikei looked me in the eye and I turned away, the hot red of a blush creeping across my face like a banner.

"I was cold..." The excuse, though the truth, sounded pathetic even to my ears.

"I wish I could believe you. It pains my honor to keep a lady imprisoned, but I cannot take any chances with the lives of my men. If you are indeed a spy, or attached in any way to the Prince, they could all be killed if I let you out."

"Isn't there something I can do? Some way I can prove myself?" I looked at Teikei with pleading eyes. He shook his head.

"I'm afraid I simply cannot risk the lives of so many men. I've lost far too many as it is." A shadow of sadness passed over his face as the man was lost in some dark, haunting memory. But, like a cloud that obscures the sun for just a moment, the shadow passed and his face brightened again as he said "But I can provide a more comfortable place for you to stay as long as you are with us."

"What do you mean?"

"I can put you in one of our spare officer's rooms. It's nothing fancy, but it has a fireplace and a reasonably comfortable bed." Teikei smiled at me, his eyes surrounded by the soft crinkles of mirth. I felt drawn into his comfortable gaze. I felt as if I could trust him. That's when I heard the scuffling of soldier's feet behind me. A burly earthbender walked across the room, his massive bulk causing vibrations to tremble up through the ground and into me. Maybe I could trust Teikei, but what about the rest of his men?

"Could Zuko stay with me?" The question surprised both of us. Since when did I trust Zuko over Earth Kingdom rebels? _Since he saved your life._

"I'm sorry, dear, but he'll have to stay where he is. I want to convince him to help us, and the best way to convince a firebender to do anything is to bore him into it." He smiled and winked at me.

I found myself facing a great dilemma. Should I take the warm, semi-comfortable room or stay in the cell with Zuko? Although I hated the idea of having to put up with more of the spoiled Prince's moodiness, the thought of spending an undetermined length of time alone in a locked room sounded even worse. Either way, it would be a good idea to have a firebender around in case one of the soldiers didn't hold as firmly as Teikei to virtuous ideas about honor and chastity, or if a chance for escape should pop up.

"I guess I'll have to refuse your offer, then." I sighed. He nodded solemnly and waved a guard over.

"Take her back and put her with the Prince. She says it's where she prefers. But give her anything she asks for... within reason." He winked at me again "No swords or pick-axes, though."

Each step I took closer to the cell only caused my spirits to sink further into the abyss of despair that now threatened to swallow me. I couldn't give up, but what could I do? _What will happen to Aang and Sokka with no one there to look out for them? How can I sit in this filthy prison while my people die around me? I want to fight! _But what could I do? I was powerless.

I watched the shadows play tag with my feet as the flickering torches lit the way down the hall. Just then, something shiny caught my eye. It was water, a small stream of it dripping out of a crack in the wall. Most of it had hardened into ice in the frigid cold of the underground cave system, forming a shimmery icicle in the crack. It was beautiful. It glimmered for a moment, then was lost in the shadows.

Finally, we arrived at the door to the cell. I should have felt despair, but instead a tiny glimmer of hope glowed in my mind. The icicle had caused me to start thinking. About water, about ice, about the nature of my element. An idea began to form in my mind.

"Excuse me, sir." I said politely as I faced the guard just before he opened the door. "But I was wondering... I've been locked in here for several days without any bathing water. I was wondering if I might be allowed enough water to wash my hair and scrub some of the dirt off my clothes." The guard looked at me suspiciously. Time to step up the act.

"Please, I just want to look pretty. You know how important that is to us women." I batted my eyelashes demurely at him.

The guard nodded and pushed the door open for me. "I'll be back with it shortly." He said as he closed the door behind me. Once again, I was locked in. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the dark. Slowly, Zuko's form became evident. He was leaning against the side of the cave, quietly simmering.

"I didn't think I'd see you again." He said, his voice devoid of all emotion.

"They didn't believe my story." I explained, squatting on the floor. I watched him as he turned toward the wall, his lithe body stretching. He closed his eyes a moment and then, in a burst of energy, he sent a ball of flame at the wall of the cave. It exploded, sending sparks to shimmer briefly in the air like fireflies.

Again and again and again he punched the wall, until he was panting and screaming in frustration. I sat there, enjoying the sudden warmth and the show of the firebender's raw power. Finally, I spoke up.

"You're not going to get anywhere doing that."

"As if you have a better idea!" He snapped at me.

"Actually, I do..."

**I want to thank everyone again for their kind review. It's your encouragement that keeps the chapters flowing, much like JM Barrie's feisty pixie, Tinkerbell, is kept alive by the clapping of her audience. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I hope I have not let you down with this chapter. I know there isn't any fluff, but, as one dear reviewer said, fluff must be balanced, and this is a balancing chapter, meant to introduce a new character. More will come soon, I promise.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Dangerous Ground**

**Chapter 11**

Zuko raised an eyebrow. Actually, it was his only eyebrow. "What do you mean? You can't possibly have a plausible escape plan."

It was my turn to smirk now. Wow, that felt good. No wonder he did it so often. "You'll see."

A few moments later the cell door screeched open and the guard, loaded down with two large buckets of water, stumbled into the room, panting.

"Huh... huh...here's your...water...miss." He said, leaning against the wall to catch his breath.

"Thank you." I nodded to the guard as he stumbled back out. As soon as the door was closed I began streaming the water from the buckets, pulling long ribbons through the air and into the small vents built into the cell wall.

"Water expands when it is cold, and contracts when it warms." I stopped streaming the water when I guessed that the cracks would be full. Taking in a lungfull of air, I blew on the water and listened to the sound of the ice crack and tinkle as it hardened against the rock.

"If I can get the water to expand enough inside the cracks, I may have a chance of widening the vents and weakening the integrity of the walls." My breathing increased as excitement flushed my face. This could actually work. I streamed water into the next vent and froze it as well.

"Now, if you could just heat up those rocks..." I pointed to the wall surrounding the cracks. Zuko nodded and pointed his fists toward the ice, sending a blast of fire that made the ice hiss and fizzle pop like firecrackers. I waited breathlessly.

Nothing happened.

I felt my hope collapsing inside of me like waves crashing and falling against a cliff. No! I would not give up! Setting my face in determination, I streamed more water from the buckets and froze it into the vents. I closed my eyes and sent up a prayer as Zuko super-heated the rocks again. This time, a thick cracking sound echoed inside the cell.

"It's working!" I shouted, pulling more water from the buckets and freezing it in place. Zuko and I repeated freezing and thawing for as long as the water lasted. Soon, tiny cracks had begun to appear in the walls. They widened, flaked and chipped as we continued our attack. Finally, the water ran out.

"I hope that was enough." I said softly as Zuko lined himself up against the wall. Letting loose a powerful yell, Zuko spun in the air and sent his foot, covered in flame, in a viscous kick against the cracks. A crumbling, tearing sound ripped through the tiny cell and suddenly a jagged hole appeared, letting in the dim glimmer of twilight.

"Hurry. They probably heard that." Zuko hastened me. But I didn't need hastening. I was out the hole almost before he could finish his sentence. I took only a moment to study my surroundings. I was on a mountain. Ah, so that was how the Earthbender fortress had remained undetected by the Fire Nation for all these years. It had been built into a mountain.

"Hurry!" Zuko hissed at me as he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me after him into the woods. I ran with him. Trees whizzed by and the forest floor was a blur beneath my feet. I rejoiced internally. We were free!

My joy did not last long. A booming shout brought fear crashing down around my head. I pushed myself to run faster, but I was already lagging behind Zuko, his war-trained body easily outpacing mine. True, I was one of the fastest runners among the girls back home, but that just didn't cut it out here.

I heard crashing behind me. Earthbender soldiers. They had already caught up to me. Something thudded at my feet. My eyes widened in horror as I recognized the feathered shaft of an arrow protruding from the ground. Several more thuds landed around me, some whizzing past my face or grazing my dress. Panic surged in my chest and gasping sobs formed on my lips. I was dead. Goodbye Sokka... Aang... Gran-Gran.

"UGH!" I suddenly found myself pushed to the ground with a mouthful of dirt. An arc of fire hissed into the sky as an arrow was turned to ashes and left to sprinkle over the ground where I lay. I looked up into Zuko's burning eyes.

"Get up, you foolish water peasant! You're going to get us both killed." He barked at me as he circled us in a wall of flame that turned more arrows into dust on the wind. I got up as commanded to, but it was too late. A wall of earthbender soldiers surrounded us. A burly man filled my field of vision...

And then everything went black.

"Uuuuuuuuuuh." Someone was moaning. "Uuuuuuuuunn." Someone familiar. Oh, it was me. I put a hand to my head. Sparks of pain flashed in front of my eyes and I instantly put my hand down.

"I see I underestimated you." A voice spoke. It sounded almost amused. Teikei.

"I have to admit, that was quite clever. I'm not sure I'd even be smart enough to think of it. But then, I'm not a waterbender." He continued, each word a messenger of pain to my throbbing head. I cracked one eye open and ventured a look around.

I was in a clean little room. The creamy orange glow of a fire filled the spartan cell and danced over the three figures that stood in the doorway. The tallest one grinned at me. It was Teikei, alright.

"It looks like you'll be getting the comfortable room after all. That means that you'll be complying to my request. So, really, your escape attempt has worked out in my favor." Teikei said.

"I'll have my men bring you to the training ground as soon as you are healed." He spoke to Zuko. I twisted to see the Prince, bound and sitting against the wall, glaring as best he could at Teikei through a black eye.

"And as for you," I froze as I realized that the leader of the Earthbenders was talking to me. "You, I will not make the mistake of underestimating again." He chuckled and came forward with something.

"That means no more 'bath water' for you." A glint of amusement shone in his eye. "Here, just enough to heal yourself and your... companion." With that he walked from the room, leaving a small basin of water by my side.

I sat up, pushing against complaining, aching muscles. I was lying on the only cot in the room, which also happened to be the only piece of furniture. I reached forward into the basin and pulled a healing layer of water onto my hand like a glove. I touched my forehead gingerly, healing the bruise and leaving only a dull ache in its place. It would go away soon enough. I turned my attention to Zuko, who, from the look of him and the fact that he was still bound, must have put up quite a fight.

I knelt down and gently untied the ropes binding his wrists. He held still for me, but I could tell by the lines in his brow that he was angry. I pulled the basin over and reached out to heal his bruises, but he pulled away sharply and shouted at me.

"I don't want your healing. It is for the weak. If it weren't for your weakness, we could have escaped!" The fire in the fireplace leapt up and crackled furiously.

"Just because I can't run as fast as you doesn't mean that I'm weak!" I shouted back at him.

"Ha! If the Water Tribes spent _half _as much time in training as they do making ice sculptures maybe they wouldn't be losing this war." He said through gritted teeth.

"And if the Fire Nation spent _half _as much time learning to get along with other people as they do terrorizing women and children maybe we could all exist in harmony." I ripped off his shirt, a little more roughly than necessary, as I started working on healing the numerous cuts and bruises left by his struggle with the earthbenders. I pushed my hand roughly against a particularly nasty bruise, wondering why in the world I was doing this for some insane, arrogant Prince. He winced. _Well, at least we know now that he can feel pain. _

_Katara! _It was Gran-Gran again. Oh great. _How can you preach condemnation toward the Fire Nation while you yourself harbor the flame of hatred in your heart? Do you desire to disgrace your people?_

"No, Gran-Gran." I whispered under my breath. Taking a small amount of water in my hand, I began to touch and heal the cuts on his stomach. His muscles tightened under my hand, rippling in a sea of masculinity, but I was too busy wrestling with my thoughts to care or notice much.

"I just don't understand, Zuko." My voice was soft and soothing, matching the rhythm of the water beneath my fingers. "Why does the Fire Nation think that those who are not like them, who exhibit anything that they deem to be weakness, deserve to be attacked? To have their peace and their land taken from them?"

"It's nothing personal. Just a matter of survival of the fittest." He answered with an arrogant shrug of his shoulders.

"Oh, and I suppose the Fire Nation is the fittest, huh? Just because they can't control themselves and live in peace with everyone else? And I suppose you've never shown weakness once in your entire life, have you?" I challenged him.

"Yes. I did show weakness once. And I paid for it." The firebender's admission broke my concentration and the water I'd been using to heal spilled from around my hand to trickle down his abdomen.

"Is that where you got your scar?" The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. _Stupid, Katara! Stupid! _I covered my mouth and backed up, looking at the floor, preparing myself for the fury that would surely follow. But silence pervaded the tiny room. I slowly raised my head, daring to look into the prince's eyes. My brain screamed that I was treading on dangerous ground, but I willed myself to be strong and look him in the eye. I had said what I said, and I was prepared to face the consequences of that decision.

He didn't answer me. The silence was even more uncomfortable now. It roared in my ears, constricted my breathing like a band of metal across my chest, lit my face on fire. What could I say now? Zuko was angry with me again, that much was evident from the dangerous fire flashing in his eyes. But he didn't yell. It scared me more than anything else he could have done. His eyes were staring at the ceiling, but they were unfocused, staring past the earthen roof into some memory that haunted his expression.

"I'm sorry. That was... insensitive." I didn't want to apologize to the spoiled, arrogant Prince, but... well, it _had _been insensitive. I expected some water peasant insult, but he only nodded his head, accepting my apology. _Hmm. Maybe he's part human after all._

"Water can be thought of as a weak element." I began healing him again. Hopefully it would dissolve some of the awkwardness of the moment. "Weak because it is not hard and strong like earth, or powerful and destructive like fire. Water is flexible, passive, moldable; things that might describe something delicate or feeble. But it is water's 'weakness' that makes it so strong. It is because of its flexibility that I was able to fill the cracks of the cave and break the walls down. Water triumphed over earth not because it was strong, but because it was weak."

Zuko remained silent, following the motions of my hands as I healed the last of his many bruises. I sensed that I was still not on good terms with him, but at least he wasn't shouting. No wonder the Fire and Water people couldn't get along. They were just too different. In one, weakness was just another way to be strong, while in the other, it was a punishable offense. I sighed.

Maybe it was just always meant to be this way...

Maybe there was no way to achieve balance among the elements.

Maybe the world would just continue to fight...

A never-ending battle that would never...could never... be won.

Finished with the healing, I buttoned Zuko's tunic back up. The prince's eyes stared in intense concentration at the ceiling. Was it anger that was flickering in his eyes right now? Confusion? I hated to think of what he might be contemplating. Certainly it must have something to do with how to kill me while I was sleeping and make it look like an accident. I pushed aside my morbid thoughts and tried to find something to say that wouldn't be a touchy subject. Unfortunately, most things turned out to be touchy subjects with the Fire Prince. Except maybe one...

"Tell me about the Fire Lands."

"Excuse me?" Zuko's eyes locked on mine and I steeled myself to meet their gaze and not back down.

"Remember that day when I asked you about your homeland, and you started telling me things about exotic orchards and sunny meadows?" Zuko nodded.

"Well, it sounds very pretty. What... what else was there?"

'What should a water peasant care what the Fire Lands look like?" Zuko growled at me. Oh, that boy sure knew how to nurse a grudge. I just wanted to reach out and slap that annoying little sneer off his face...

_The first step in overcoming your enemy is to understand him. _I'd heard father repeat those words to Sokka every time my brother had wanted to go knock a few firebender heads with his boomerang. And now, those words were coming back to me, reminding me of the ways of my people.

"I...I was just curious about what it must have been like to grow up as royalty." I pulled my hair out of my braid and shook it, letting it cascade down my back in chocolate waves as I tried to get comfortable for the night. But the hard, earthen floor just wasn't comfortable. I wiggled on the floor, twisting until I found a comfortable groove. I laid on my side, one hand fingering the soft blue fabric of my dress as it draped over me, the other propping up my head as looked at him with wide, hopeful eyes.

A strange looked crossed his face as his eyes met mine. It was so fleeting that I didn't have time to analyze its meaning. But, knowing Zuko, it must surely have been anger. I frowned.

"What's wrong?" Zuko's voice was unusually harsh. It reminded me of when Sokka was first going through his man-changes and was trying to cover up the cracks in his voice.

"Nothing." I sighed.

"Fine. I'll tell you about the Fire Lands." I looked up, surprised. Whatever I'd done to make him change his mind I'd have to remember so I could use it again.

Zuko closed his eyes and laid back, his chest rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm. I began to think that maybe he'd just said it to shut me up and was now falling asleep. Then, he spoke.

"Mostly there was red. Red houses, red statues, red clothing. It is a beautiful color, the color of my Nation and my element." Zuko's voice betrayed pride and... boredom? I began to feel a little bored, myself. I hoped that this would not turn into another Fire Nation superiority speech. But then, Zuko paused, and his voice softened.

"But there was one place where color abounded." I waited a long time for Zuko to continue, but he remained silent.

"Where?" I prompted. Zuko tensed, his lips pressed tightly together. He simply wouldn't open up to me. That's when I did the unthinkable.

I reached out and touched his shoulder. I felt his muscles jerk and tighten beneath my fingertips, but he did not pull away as he had done before.

"I just want to know more about you." I said, gazing into his eyes, willing him to understand that I meant him no harm. He stared back at me for a long time, his golden gaze boring into me, searching me, fighting, struggling.

"The garden... it was in the royal courtyard. My...mother made it. She brought plants from all four nations and planted them there. I remember... there were so many colors. She used sneak me into the garden when I was little and let me sit with her while she told me stories. I used to think that her voice was so pretty that the flowers must be listening, too." I sat in stunned silence. Somehow, I'd not expected this from the Prince of the Fire Nation.

_A little prejudiced yourself, aren't you, Katara?_ Gran-Gran's voice scolded me.

"Wait. She had to sneak you in? Why?" I was surprised by the sudden change in Zuko's voice from soft to hard as he explained.

"My father despised the garden. He despised anything that was fragile and beautiful. He would have destroyed it if my mother had not stood up to him."

"She sounds like a wonderful woman." I said truthfully.

"She was." We sat in silence for a while. No more words were needed or expected.


	12. Chapter 12

**Dangerous Ground**

**Chapter 12**

A wave of cold washed over my body and I shuddered. Opening one eye, I noticed that the fire had died in the fireplace sometime during the night, with it went all warmth and light, except for a spare amount provided by the few embers that still glowed. I turned over groggily and found myself facing Zuko. I tried to remember what had happened last night.

Right, we'd been talking about flower gardens and his mother, and then I'd gotten very tired. Escape attempts can do that to a person. I'd rested my head on my arms for just a second...

I must have fallen asleep then. I smiled to myself. Here I finally had a nice bed to sleep on and yet I was still lying on the floor next to Zuko. I rubbed my hands over my shoulders, feeling the cold creep into my clothing. Well, as long as I was here...

I scooted closer to Zuko and wrapped my arms around his body, once again surprised at the heat that poured off of him. I snuggled against him, enjoying the warmth and sighing into his clothes. I'd never enjoyed being warm this much in my entire life.

"Rise and shine, beauties." I blinked groggily. How could it be time to get up? It was still dark! That's when I remembered that we were in a cell with no window. Come to think of it, a cell with no cracks, vents, or seams in the walls whatsoever.

"Teikei's gathering the men. He wants you with us for the morning ceremony." The guard looked down at me and smiled peculiarly. "Perhaps from now on I should knock first?" He grinned. I felt embarrassment burn like fire in my cheeks. I bended the last few drops of water out of the basin and sent them spinning into the guard's face with a satisfying stinging sound.

"Owch!" The guard grabbed the side of his face and rubbed furiously. "I'll be back in two minutes, be ready by then or I'll drag you out myself!" The guard slammed the door closed.

"Yeah? I'd like to see you try!" I shouted after him. Still huffing I turned to face Zuko, who was staring at me with a smirk dancing on the edges of his lips.

"What? What are you smirking about now?" I snapped.

"Just noticing that you've got a bit of a temper yourself." He cocked his head at me teasingly, egging me on.

I returned a cool stare. I was perfectly in control. I'd never lost my temper a day in my life. Well, maybe a few times. But certainly not as often as Zuko. No, we were nothing alike in that respect.

I busied myself in brushing my hair.

We were brought to the breakfast ceremony unbound, much to my relief. At least five hundred men were crowded around the long tables that filled the dining room. Teikei stood at the head of the room, watching the men with a fatherly eye. After everyone had gotten settled, Teikei spoke, his voice filling the room as it echoed off the high walls and ceiling.

"Welcome everyone. I trust you've all had a good night's rest?" A murmur of agreement rose from the crowd.

"Well, everyone except those who had to sleep in a room adjacent to Okani's. I think if he snored just a little bit louder he'd probably alert the Fire Nation to our presence all the way back in the Fire Lands." The room erupted in laughter. A man, he must have been Okani, stood up and bowed, smiling and reddening at the good-natured ribbing.

"As I'm sure many of you have heard, we have guests with us today." Teikei continued, sweeping a hand to where Zuko and I sat. Crimson covered my cheeks as five hundred faces turned to look at me. I ducked and hoped to hide my face behind my braids. Zuko, on the other hand, stiffened and lifted his face defiantly.

"I know that you will treat them with the respect and honor that we treat all guests." Teikei said. His face was relaxed but his voice betrayed a gentle warning that got the message across to all the men: we were under his protection.

"Now, let us bow in a prayer of thanks for this food." Teikei began praying, and I bent my head. It wasn't uncommon for the Water Tribes to pray thanks for the food, but it must have been a foreign notion to Zuko, who sat unyieldingly straight beside me.

"Bow your head." I whispered to him, thinking that maybe he'd not head Teikei's instructions.

"Why? What have I to be thankful for?"

"The food."

"Phft. This is hardly enough to make up for-"

The prayer ended before Zuko could finish. I wondered what he was going to say, but pushed the thought to the back of my mind as the food was passed around.

Mmm, a lovely, earthy smell rose from the bowls passed under my nose. The hardy scent of tarragon and rosemary greeted me, rising from the warm rolls that I placed on my plate. They had a thick crust and a chewy, hardy texture. It was far from the food I'd grown up with, but it was filling and warmed my insides. I glanced over at Zuko, who had barely touched his food. _Spoiled brat_ I thought to myself as I devoured another roll.

"Our guests are going to do a bit of work today." Teikei said to the group of men who had gathered together in a medium-sized room.

"As payment for destroying our dungeon cell, Zuko will now take turns fighting each one of you. This will help you greatly in the battlefield, as it will give you experience in fighting against the strategies specific to Fire Nation warriors."

"I'm not fighting!" Zuko shouted. "I refuse to help you train these stupid-"

"Fine. You don't have to fight. I mean, I can understand that you'd be scared facing Earthbenders twice your size..." Teikei said, a mischievous twinkle lighting his eyes.

"I'm not afraid!" Zuko growled, fire glowing in his fingertips.

"Then fight!" Teikei pushed the first recruit forward, who immediately threw up a rolling wave of earth under Zuko. Rising to the bait, Zuko fought back. The two went at each other for no more than thirty seconds before the fight was over and the man thrown to the ground. Zuko stood over him, a victorious smirk on his face.

The next recruit was sent in, and he fared no better, lasting only twenty seconds. I watched from the sidelines, enjoying the show. That is, until I heard Teikei's voice behind me. "I haven't forgotten about you, Katara. Here: would you mind patching all these socks while you sit here?" He dumped a basket into my lap of holey, sweat-stained socks.

"Eckk!" I gagged at the smell.

"What? They've been washed." Teikei pretended to pout.

"I'd rather fight, like Zuko."

"I'm afraid that will be a waste of your time. My men don't need to know how to fight against waterbendes." Teikei said, handing me a needle and a spool of thread. "Enjoy yourself." He left me alone with the socks as he went to inspect the fighters, calling out suggestions and encouragement to the recruits as they needed it.

Zuko was merciless. He fought with savage efficiency for almost five straight hours. None of the earthbenders were able to touch him, despite an impressive array of Earthbending techniques. But now Zuko was beginning to tire. It was because of this that one of the earthbenders managed to place a sweeping kick behind Zuko's knees, toppling him to the ground.

The emotions that crossed the soldier's face were comical. First, there was elation at having been the first soldier to land a kick, then there was fear at realizing he was the first soldier to land a kick, and finally there was outright terror as Zuko leapt up and raised an fire-engulfed fist over poor soldier's horrified face.

"Stop, Zuko!" Teikei shouted, seeing that the situation was going to get out of control. But Zuko was not one to take orders. He pushed his hand forward, sending a funnel of fire at the trembling soldier.

_SPLASH! _A huge wave of water crashed over Zuko, extinguishing the flames before they could leave his palms.

_What the? Did I do that?_ I glanced around. How could I? I didn't even know there was water nearby. That's when I noticed Teikei standing next to Zuko with a large bucket in his hand.

"And that concludes today's lesson, young men, which is: Never make a firebender angry unless you have a bucket of water handy." He jiggled the bucket above his head, earning laughter, nervous and otherwise, from the small troop. But the person who laughed the hardest was undoubtably me.

"What do you think is so funny?" Zuko was hovering over me, water steaming from his face and clothing. I tried to stop my laughter long enough to speak.

"Oh, nothing, your highness, just..." And then I dissolved into another fit of giggles.

"Well, I'm glad I could be your amusement today. You must really enjoy watching it, since it's the only excitement you'll see while you spend your pathetic existence doing the only thing waterbenders are any good at: darning socks!"

"I can fight as well as you can!" I shouted, leaping from beneath the smelly pile.

"You're right. That smell would knock an enemy down a mile away."

"You're no bed of roses yourself. You smell like smoke and ashes."

"That's because I'm a firebender. It works that way. Although I guess not in your case. If you're a waterbender you should smell _clean, _shouldn't you?"

"You try mending socks all day and see if you don't smell, too!"

"I don't have to! I have something _useful _to do."

"Socks are useful!"

"Yeah? Try attacking me with a sock and then tell my how useful they are."

"I'll attack you with my bare hands and you can tell me how useful _I _am."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Lead the way!" I glared at the firebender, who motioned with his hand to the center of the ring. The troop, which had just been sliding out the door, now turned and watched in amazement as I took up a fighting stance opposite Zuko. He waited, letting me make the first move.

I gathered the water Teikei had spilt from the bucket and formed it into a whip, striking it out at the Prince's face. An aggressive move, but I wanted to intimidate him.

It didn't work.

Zuko blocked the whip and sent a stream of fire at my ankles, causing me to jump back and stumble over my own feet. He smirked. Rage flickered inside of me. I reformed the whip and sent it cracking several times at his body, but he blocked each one easily with his wrist. He sent a fiery retaliation at me, which I ducked. I smelled the faint smell of singed hair. That was close.

But I'd been watching him fight all day, and had gotten to know some of his patterns. I got into the rhythm of the dance, whipping water at him and dodging his attacks. It was thrilling, exhilarating... terrifying. But I showed no fear. I would not back down.

I threw a waterball at his stomach, hoping to wind him, but he jumped and performed a perfect flip in the air, landing inches from me. He grabbed my wrists and pinned them to my sides.

"Do you yield?" He offered.

I answered him with a sharp knee-kick to his stomach. He doubled over and I made my escape. Before he could recover I sent the waterwhip curling around his ankles, yanking his footing out from under him. But he simply sent a wave of fire curling in my direction with his foot. He was up and sending showers of sparks at me. I tried to gather the water, but it was taking too long. There was no ready supply of my element, unlike Zuko.

But then he stopped. He waited as I gathered the moisture and formed it into a whip. I was shocked at his small act of mercy. That is, until he gave me that infuriating smirk of his, his eyes mocking me, taunting me _"weak weak weak."_

"Augh!" I struck out at his head, my frustrations getting the better of me. He blocked and moved in, grabbing my wrist and sweeping me down in an intricate pattern of footwork that had been so fast I'd not even had a chance to follow it with my eyes.

"Umph." I grunted as I landed on my back in the dirt, slightly winded. I felt a weight on my stomach and looked up to see that Zuko had straddled me. I felt fire light my cheeks. It did not go unnoticed by Zuko.

"Uncomfortable? Then don't challenge me." He warned. I wriggled under him, but his grip was vice-like. He had won, and he knew it.

That's when it happened again. A volt of electricity, stronger than any of the other times, hit me. I shuddered as it sent tingles up my spine. I felt Zuko tighten his grip on me. Did he feel it too, or was he just worried I'd try to escape? When I opened my eyes I found his staring down at me, blazing with intensity. I was lost in their golden light, trapped and spinning but, for some reason, not wanting to get away. I felt his breath warm on my cheek, his chest rising and falling just inches above me, his bare wrists pressed against mine, our pulses pounding together.

"Ahem" Teikei let out an embarrassed little cough. Zuko pushed himself off me and walked out of the room, a guard running to catch up with him to ensure he wouldn't try to escape. I was still on the floor, panting. It was from the fight. That was all. It was a tough fight, and I was winded. That was all.

I was still convincing myself of this as I was led back to my room.

**Yay, fluff! Hopefully not too much or too little. Thank you, beloved readers, once again for your kind reviews. If not for you, this story would not have half of its enthusiasm. I hope I did not disappoint. There's no cliffhanger ending to this one, as I like to usually leave you with, but know that exciting, character building, and fluffy things are coming... **


	13. Chapter 13

**Dangerous Ground**

**Dear Beloved Readers, welcome to chapter 13. I'm sorry I didn't update as quickly as I have been, but I was suffering from a writer's block, and so I took some time to map out the rest of the story so I know where I'm going. I'm very excited about where I'm going. Rubs hands together gleefully**

**Warning: This chapter contains some blood. It stays within rating, but I felt I should warn you, just in case you get easily squeamish. **

**Chapter** **13**

We fell into a steady routine. Each morning we would wake to the pounding of a guard's fist on the door when morning broke. Then, we'd get dressed and let ourselves be escorted to the breakfast ceremony under heavy guard. After breakfast Zuko would be dragged, sulking and growling, to the training room, where he'd mercilessly kick the young recruits around until dinnertime. I, on the other hand, would have to sit and watch the action while mending a pile of torn and, thanks to Zuko, _burnt_ clothing.

Next, we'd eat dinner and be led back to our rooms where I'd spend the rest of the evening healing any abrasions Zuko might have accumulated over the day and trying to get him to open up to me. But, despite my best efforts, the Prince was stone-lipped. He spoke rarely, and when he did it was mostly just cryptic, bitter, vague sentences that made me want to scream in frustration. Then I'd give up and just lie there, staring into the fire, until I fell asleep.

Sometime during the night the fire would die, and I'd be forced to come as close to Zuko as I could for his body heat. It was stiff and uncomfortable, like two boards lying against each other, neither wanting to loosen up and soften for the other. And then the whole thing would start all over again the next day.

But one day the little routine came to an abrupt halt.

Zuko was beating the tar out of some poor recruit and I was stitching the tar out of some poor sock when suddenly a tall, lanky man came in. I'd spent enough time in the Earthbender army's camp to be able to recognize the subtle differences in the uniforms that denoted rank and position. The lightweight fabric and dark coloring of this man's uniform was that of a messenger. The man strode up to Teikei and whispered something in his ear. Teikei's usually calm, amused look changed in an instant. His face hardened and a dark appearance, like the sky before a storm, settled itself on his brow. He stood up suddenly and raised his hand, signaling the end of the sparring match.

"I am needed in the war room. Go to your stations and await further orders." Teikei had exited the room before I could ask any questions, the soldiers following on his heels, leaving only myself, Zuko, and one guard. He put a hand on my shoulder and began to lead me and Zuko to our rooms.

"I don't understand. What's going on?"

The soldier only shrugged.

"Are we being attacked?"

Another shrug.

"Did the Fire Nation find us?"

Another shrug.

"Why did Teikei go to the war room?"

This time, instead of shrugging, the soldier turned to Zuko. "Does she always ask this many questions?" Zuko rolled his eyes heavenward and nodded. I fumed inwardly. _Men. _

Hours passed as we waited in the cell. Questions buzzed in my head, refusing to let me rest. I paced. I tugged at my dress. I poked the fire. Nothing assuaged the anxiety that was creeping up my spine like the needling legs of a centipede.

And, to make the problem even more frustrating, Zuko was sitting with a calm, relaxed look on his face, as if he was bored with the whole situation. I knew it was silly and childish, but it irked me that he could be so nonchalant.

"How can you just sit there?" I snapped at him. He raised an eyebrow.

"What else is there to do?"

"Something! At least show a little emotion!"

"And how would that help the situation?"

"It would let me know you're human!"

"Since when have I had to prove anything to a weak-minded little water peasant?"

His comment had hurt, though I couldn't explain why. Zuko had insulted me before and I'd just let it roll off my back, knowing it had come from my enemy, and therefore was expected..

We sat in stony silence for an eternity. Without a window to let in light I had no idea what time it was, which made the waiting that much harder to bear. I set my back to the wall opposite Zuko. Drawing my knees up to my chest, I folded my arms and let my head rest on my forearms. I closed my eyes and listened to the fire snap and crack, the only sound that could be heard in the little room. I found myself lulled by it, the anger that had raged in my heart just moments ago now calmed by the soothing sound of the logs crumbling beneath the power of the flames.

I was roughly shaken. I blinked open fuzzy, sleep-soaked eyes and stared into the face of Teikei. Blood was caked on the side of his face and his eyes were ringed with dark purple circles.

"Katara, you once told me that you have no allegiance to the Fire Nation." I was confused, still shaking off the last vestiges of my fitful night's sleep, and stunned by the horrible shape of the Earthbender leader's face, but I managed to gather myself together enough to nod.

"Well, here's a chance to prove yourself. Come with me." I stood up, all weariness disappearing from my bones to be replaced with nerve-tingling fear.

Teikei had me follow him out of the room. He walked ahead of me, his slumped shoulders and dragging feet betraying exhaustion. He didn't even turn to make sure I was following him, just plodded on, trusting that I would not try to escape.

I took in the appearance of his clothing for the first time. Dirt and blood mingled together everywhere on his clothing. I began to wonder how one man could lose so much blood. _Maybe it's not all his. _A wave of nausea swept over my stomach and I began to feel glad that I'd not had a chance to have breakfast.

"Yesterday a messenger came and alerted me to the possibility that the Fire Nation was going to attack our nearest town."

_So that's why he had left for the war room._

"We managed to beat them back, but casualties were heavy." Teikei's voice was pained, as if it were seeping from him like blood from a wound. I remained silent, realizing with sudden clarity what part I was to play in this.

We came suddenly upon a pair of doors I'd never seen before. A large green symbol had been painted on the front, and through it I could dimly hear shouting.

"You will be assisted by three of my best healers." He motioned a young man over to my side. "This is Danton. When you need more water, simply wave to him and he will bring it."

The doors were opened. A horrible smell hit my face like a sledgehammer and I took a step back as if I'd been assaulted. Blood and singed clothing mingled in the air and I felt bile rise in my throat. _No, be strong._ I commanded myself, rolling up my sleeves and walking into the midst of the wounded men.

"There are so many." I whispered to myself as I knelt beside the first soldier I came across, dipping my hand into the basin Danton had given me and healing the appalling burn that covered most of his right arm. Then I was up, running to the next prone body, trying to reach him before it was too late.

I'm not sure how long I worked that night, all I know is that I couldn't stop. The fear and horror that had first given me energy had long ago worn out, leaving me numb and reeling in my own world of shock. I didn't think. I didn't feel. I couldn't. I just healed.

I was exhausted, but I ignored the aching in my body, the trembling that had taken over my muscles as they gave more than they could give. I could dimly hear one of the earthbender healers coming up to me and speaking to me.

"Good job, young lady. We've never had a waterbender to heal the men before. You've done almost all the work. Go lie down. It is almost night and you've worked all day." But I didn't hear them. The world was a fuzzy, whirling mass. I heard a soldier cry out and I ran to him.

His eyes stared at the ceiling, fever burning in his cheeks as his body rallied itself for one last battle.

"It's okay." I murmured automatically as I searched for his wound. There it was. A blow to the chest. Broken bones. I didn't know how to heal broken bones. I watched helplessly as his eyes lost all light. He was gone.

I closed my eyes and balled my hands into fists. Rage and sadness swirled inside of me, boiling until I felt I would burst. I felt my nails bite into my palms, felt my own blood trickle from the small wounds.

Suddenly, strong, firm arms enveloped me, lifting me as gently and carefully as a newborn kitten from the floor. A low, familiar voice spoke into my hair. "It's okay Katara."

Zuko. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself to stop looking weak in front of him. "I'm a failure. Just like you said. I... I couldn't heal him. I'm a failure, Zuko! I'm weak! I'm-" I felt myself pressed against his chest. His warm body relaxed my tensed muscles, his heartbeat steadying my erratically beating one.

"You're not a failure. You're not weak. You did the best you could, Katara." He murmured. I felt myself pressed tighter against him as he began to walk. He said something to one of the guards and then we were moving again. Light and shadow passed over my tightly shut eyes as we passed the torches spaced down the hallways. I heard a door open and felt Zuko lay me down on the cot as gently as if I were made of glass.

The door opened again, a thin stream of light hitting my face. Zuko's low voice conversed with the higher-pitched of voice of the healer's for a few moments, and then door closed again. Someone neared me and I knew it was Zuko. The air was always warmer around him. I opened my eyes halfway, watching him listlessly.

He had a basin of water in his hands. He took his palm and set it on the surface of the water, then concentrated until steam began to rise from the basin. Satisfied, he took a towel and dipped it in the water, bringing it toward my face and wiping away the dirt and blood that had been caked there. Then he turned to my hands, taking my small cold fingers into his masculine, warm hand and began washing them tenderly. He wrapped the cuts I'd foolishly given myself in my state of shock. Was this man, who gently and tenderly comforted my shocked body, the same ruthless Fire Prince that I had been running from for months now?

Confusion coursed through my mind. Why did Zuko have to be such a mystery to me? One minute he was speaking of mercy and weakness as if it were a plague, and the next he was tending to me with a gentleness I wouldn't have thought possible from the Fire Prince. Part of me wanted to speak my mind, but then he put the basin down and walked out of my line of vision. I felt the cot give a little behind me, heard the rustling of sheets, and then his warm, strong arms were wrapped around my body, pulling me against him.

I gave up my questions. Maybe Zuko would always be shut to me. But for now, wrapped in his powerful arms, I gave up trying to understand. I curled into his embrace, giving myself completely into the curve of his body, the warmth of his arms, letting myself go soft at his touch, letting blissful unconsciousness take me away from this horrible place of pain and fear and confusion.

I woke up the next morning feeling warm and safe. The memories of last night came crashing down on me, but somehow I managed to find the strength to face them and accept them. I don't know where I found this sudden strength, if it came from some part of me that had laid dormant in my life before my blissful ignorance was shattered by war, or if it were in some way connected to the powerful arms that were still wrapped around me in a protective embrace. Maybe it was both.

I turned, stretching my muscles. I was surprised at how little they ached. Was it just that I was getting used to this lifestyle of running and fighting and struggling? Turning completely, I faced Zuko. He was awake and watching me. A strange, indiscernible look was upon his face, barely visible in the dim glow put off by the embers. It was the same he'd given me that night I'd asked him about the Fire Lands. I'd taken it for anger then, but now, as I had a chance to study him, I realized that it didn't resemble anger as much as it resembled... confusion? Wonder?

What did he have to be confused about? I sighed. Life had become so complicated. I would have given my left arm just to be back home, bickering with Sokka and baking cookies with Gran-Gran.

But then, if I were there, I wouldn't have a chance to see _this_. My eyes swept down over Zuko's shirtless chest. His muscles had become even more defined over the past few weeks that he'd spent sparring earthbender soldiers. I felt the heat of a blush rise to my face. What was I doing? I was admiring my _enemy? _I reminded myself that the masculine body I was wrapped in was a firebender's. The enemy of my people. The son of the cruel and barbarous Fire Lord. Zuko could break every bone in my body if he felt like it.

_But would he?_

Warmth spread inside me as I remembered the night before, how he'd tended to me with a grace and carefulness I hadn't thought possible in a firebender.

_Hmm. People aren't always how they appear, are they Katara?_

Wonderful. Gran-Gran was back and in full swing. I pushed the voice to the back of my mind and just concentrated on enjoying feeling safe for the first time since my father had left for war. That is, until my stomach let out a ravenous growl. Nothing had passed my lips since I'd started healing the soldiers the day before. I wanted breakfast. I wanted it NOW.

"Did the guard knock for breakfast?" I asked.

Zuko shook his head. "I told him last night that he was not to wake you this morning. You needed your rest."

Will wonders never cease? Was Zuko actually being... considerate?

"I thought you'd sleep the whole day away." He grumbled at me. I sighed. So much for that.

"I wonder what time it is." I said, ignoring his comment. I pushed myself, somewhat reluctantly, out of bed and onto my feet. Just then, a knock sounded on the door and it slowly opened as a young soldier peeked in.

"I heard voices, so I kinda thought it would be okay to..." He cast a quick look at Zuko. I smiled. This must be the guard Zuko had warned not to wake me up. The poor boy, Zuko must have put some kind of fear in him. And, not knowing Zuko, he had probably believed every word of the impending doom that would be brought down on his head if he dared wake me.

"It's okay. Yes, we're awake. And hungry. You don't suppose there's any food left after breakfast, is there?"

The soldier gave me a winning smile and nodded enthusiastically. "Follow me." That bright smile, that cheerful voice. He reminded me of Aang. Sadness crept into my heart as I remembered the little boy. How was he doing? Was he learning earth and fire bending? Did Sokka worry about me?

I wallowed in the feeling while I walked behind the soldier to breakfast, but pushed the thoughts to the back of my head as 500 soldiers rose as I walked into the room. All eyes were turned to me. I blushed a little under their gaze, until Teikei spoke.

"Our guest of honor has arrived. We may now all partake in breakfast." I gasped. They had waited for me? Why? I peeked at the faces around me and saw that most were staring at me with awe or even reverence.

"Many of the men here owe you their lives, Katara." Teikei said, his eyes expressing a kind thank-you. "From now on, you and your- ...you and Prince Zuko- will be allowed to walk freely about the fortress."

I bowed and sat down. Five hundred men followed my lead. All the attention was strange. It made me uncomfortable. I hadn't done anything spectacular. I'd healed many of them, yes, but what else could I do? Let them die?

"Now, I share your in happiness over the victory at Tu-Seng yesterday, but know that in protecting that town, we've tipped our hand. They now know that the town is important to us, and will undoubtedly attack again." Teikei addressed the soldiers. "I will be in the war room for the remainder of the day. The rest of you should take this time to prepare and catch up on your sleep." With that he stood up, having finished breakfast, and walked from the room, leaving everyone to their own plans.

"What do we do now?" I asked, feeling a bit giddy in the newfound freedom.

"We look for a way to escape." Zuko hissed at me as if I were stupid. I almost came back with some sarcastic retort, but realized that he was right. We should be looking for any opportunity to escape. I followed him out the door as he began to thoroughly searched the mountain fortress.

...To no avail. There were no windows, no exits marked 'escape door,' nothing that led to the outside world except for air vents no bigger than my fist. Zuko probably would have kept searching until we'd worn tracks in the ground if Teikei hadn't interrupted us.

"Katara. I need to speak with you." His face was set and solemn, his shoulders hung as if the weight of the mountain were settled on them. He ushered me to a secluded place along the halls. I heard Zuko following, though Teikei didn't stop him.

"My scouts have spotted Fire Nation ships approaching the inlet from the South, which confirms my worst fears. They're going to attack the houses just south of the town. They're mostly filled with the women and children of men who are in the Earthbender army."

"Your information is wrong. The Fire Nation would not attack a village for no reason." Zuko spoke up, fire burning in his voice. Teikei let out a sigh.

"It is a common Fire Nation tactic to kill the families of the men at war, to break their spirits and make them give up."

"That's not true! The Fire Nation has more honor than to-" Teikei gave Zuko a stern look and dropped his voice, anger adding a dangerous edge to it.

"I don't know what kind of idealistic views you may have of your mother country, young Prince, but I assure you: this kind of brutal warfare is far from honorable and far from rare for the Fire Nation. Do you mean to tell me that you grew up as a Prince in your father's household and never heard of at least one cruel battle tactic?" Teikei's eyes bored into Zuko's; pale green meeting fiery amber.

I fully expected another furious defense of the Fire Nation's honor from Zuko. But, to my shock, Zuko dropped his eyes. A look of haunting pain washed over the Prince's face for a split second before he turned away from Teikei's piercing gaze. I wanted to go up to Zuko and question him. I wanted to know what had caused that look. I wanted...

Teikei was addressing me again. "We think the best thing to do would be to distract them, confuse them a little. If you would be willing, Katara, I would like to ask you to come with the army tonight and use your waterbending to trouble the captains while we launch an attack from the opposite direction. It may be just the advantage we're looking for..."

"NO!" I spun around. Zuko's eyes were narrowed and boring into Teikei with a venomous bite.

"You can't bring a girl into war! They can't fight!" I gasped and crossed my arms, ready to come back with a comment. I felt Teikei's hand on my shoulder, restraining me.

"Zuko, is it not true that many Fire Nation women are warriors?" Teikei cocked his head to one side.

"Well, yes, but that's because Fire Nation women are stronger. You can't expect a _waterbender _to be able to hold her own in a fight." I opened my mouth, a stinging reply hovering on the edge of my lips._ Oh, he was really going to get it this time. _But Teikei's grip tightened. I looked up into his face, confused by this behavior. Why would he fight my battles for me? That's when I noticed the tiniest sliver of a smile tugging at Teikei's lips.

"I don't know. I saw Katara spar you and I thought she held her own quite well."

"That's because I was going easy on her. If you put her out there in a battle she'll be slaughtered."

"Oh, I see. So, you don't want me to let her to go because you're worried for her safety?"

A crimson tint lit Zuko's cheeks and he stepped back.

"I don't care what happens to her. She can die for all I care." He finally said, sending me a look of death as he turned and walked back to his room. Once he was out of earshot, Teikei burst out laughing.

"What? You're happy that he doesn't care if I die?" I wasn't sure if I entirely understood what just took place.

"No, no dear. Quite the contrary. Yes, quite the contrary in deed."

I looked at him as if he'd gone mad.

"Give it time, Katara. That's all I have to say. You'll understand."

_Understand what?_

"What are you doing?" I questioned Zuko as I walked into the little room. He was lacing his boots, a look of determination on his face.

"I'm coming with you." The answer was unexpected, to say the least.

"What? You're going to fight against your own people?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No. I'm just coming with you."

"I thought you didn't care if I died."

"I don't!" Zuko whirled on me, getting so close I could feel the heat of his body, smell the scent of fire and ashes. "I'm not just going to let you go escape and leave me here to rot in this place."

"Is that what you think I'm doing?" I shouted. "Well, guess what, your highness, escape is the furthest thing from my mind. Unlike some people, I'm not thinking just about myself. I'm going out there tonight to make sure innocent people don't die. Not that you'd have any idea what that means." I growled.

"Don't you dare judge me." Zuko's voice had dropped so low it was almost a whisper. Even the fire seemed to have quieted. The room was breathless. Somewhere along the way, I'd crossed a line. I averted my eyes and backed down. He was right. I was being the very person I'd sworn not be.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled, but Zuko was already out the door. He didn't even wait for me.

The hall was a roiling mass of battle-hungry bodies. Everywhere there were manly shouts and smells. I wrinkled my nose. Maybe Zuko was right. Maybe battle wasn't the place for a girl.

No! I was going to help those people. If it meant I was uncomfortable for a while, well, that was just too bad for me. I'd been traveling with two stinky, sloppy boys for the past however-long, hadn't I? Well, what was a few extra hundred?

"Katara. I'm glad you're here. You and Zuko will be traveling together, under guard. I hope you understand, we simply cannot risk you escaping if you're really..." Teikei's eyes pleaded forgiveness, and I gave it to him in a simple nod.

"I understand. It is the mark of a good leader to put the safety of your men above all else."

"You're very wise, Katara. Come, I'll take you to the front of the line with Zuko. We're about to march out."

**Breathlessly waiting I really, really hope I did not disappoint you with that chapter. I really needed to challenge Katara's character. Katara has grown now, has found some strength. I toned this chapter down a lot from what it originally was, and I hope it was enough not to make you go stop reading. I have good things in store for this story. Really good things... You'll begin to see in the next chapter...**


	14. Chapter 14

**Dangerous Ground**

**Chapter 14 **

We marched forever. My legs were tired, scratched, and wobbly by the time we arrived at what would be base camp. We'd marched all night, and day was just beginning to peek it's rosy face over the eastern horizon, spreading a little warmth over the frost crusted ground. I waterbended the damp out of my clothes.

"Would you like me to take away the damp?" I said softly to Zuko, still feeling a little guilty after our last argument and wanting to mend bridges.

He didn't answer, only closed his eyes. His skin began to glow with an ethereal, rosy light and the water steamed off his clothes and skin. Okay, that was a big 'no'. I sighed. Why did he have to be so stubborn?

"Okay, men, just as we planned." Teikei's voice was low, barely reaching his men's ears before it disappeared in a whisper. Five hundred men hurried to find their positions, their war-trained bodies hardly making a sound on the forest floor. A firm hand was placed on my shoulder and Teikei's comforting voice calmed my rattling nerves.

"This way, Katara." He led me up a rocky path to the top of the mountain. The cold, pale blue of early dawn outlined the skeleton-like twigs of the trees, barren in winter's grip. I shuddered, wishing suddenly to be back home in bed, sleeping away this ungodly hour.

"You will wait here for the signal." Teikei brought me to the edge of a plateau. It overlooked the inlet and the beach below, giving me plenty of maneuvering room to waterbend. "Now, on the signal from my men, you will send a wave crashing over the edge of the ship. While they're looking for the source of the water, my men will attack from the opposite shore." I nodded. I was ready. Fear churned in my stomach, but I called upon the courage of my people to steady me.

Teikei left like a shadow, melting into the forest soundlessly. I was alone.

Well, not quite. A burly earthbender guard stood ready by a pine tree. He had one hand on his knife and another on Zuko's shoulder, who sat glowering on the ground. His wrists had been tied palm-to-palm so he couldn't fire bend, and his ankles had been shackled so that he could walk but not run. He had taken it in a surprisingly mature way, but still grumbled under his breath about honor and weakness and stupid earthbender blockheads.

I turned to face the sea. Icy wind cut through even the thick earthbender warrior's clothes I wore, and I huddled down into the rough, sturdy fabric, hoping to cling to the fading warmth as dawn crept into the sky with maddening sluggishness.

A glint caught my eye. Was this it? I squinted. Yes, there, reflecting the newly-born morning's sun was the metal of a firebender ship. My heart sped and I my breath came in short, shallow gasps. It would be soon now.

The ship made its way up the inlet slowly. So slowly.

Nearer.

Nearer.

My muscles tightened and I began to focus on the water beneath the ship, feeling its tug and pull, feeling it being parted by the bow of the ship.

Nearer.

Nearer.

Where was the signal?

Nearer.

There it was! A white flag fluttered briefly behind a bush and I stood up. I raised my hands in the air and pushed the water.

It was so heavy. I tried to remember if I'd ever tried to move this much water before.

Push! Pull! Push! Pull! A wave easily half as tall as the ship broke against its side, sending the ship rocking and twisting like a clumsy top. I saw small figures stagger on the deck, bewildered and dizzy. I pulled more water up. More! More! Another wave broke, this time washing all the way over the deck., pushing the ship up against the sand of the opposite bank, just as Teikei had instructed me.

Howls and war whoops filled the dawn as the Earthbenders broke from their hiding places and clambered up the ship's sides. The sky rained arrows as earthbender archers picked off the firebenders that didn't run for cover. The attack was going perfectly. I ran more waves against the ship, ensuring that it would not break from the shore.

But firebenders aren't stupid. They'd gotten good at war. Smoke and flame began to mingle in the air as they fought back viciously. I heard a dull rumble, then saw a giant ball of flame light on the ship's deck.

The catapult. Someone was working the catapult.

The fireball was in the air now, and it was coming at me. They must have seen me waterbend.

"Run!" I whirled around and shouted. But it was too late.

It crashed to the ground in an earthshattering thud, sending rock and debris flying around me. I ducked, shielding my face with my hands, feeling the ground sway and give like water beneath my feet. Dust filled the air like fog, making me choke and gasp as I whispered fervent prayers for protection.

But then the dust settled. The ground stopped shaking. I was still alive! I stood on trembling legs and looked around me. The ground had been flattened. Trees were ripped out of the ground, their dark roots sticking in the air like twisted snakes.

"Zuko!" I yelled. Had he escaped? Had he left me here by myself?

Suddenly, a flash of red fabric caught my eye. Zuko had refused to wear the earthbender green, so he had instead had worn the same red firebender tunic and pants he'd been wearing since we'd captured him. I rushed to the red fabric and began pulling the mounds of dirt and rock off of him. A wave of fear washed over me, cold and sharp, as I uncovered his body. How could anyone have survived that?

I reached forward, my hand trembling slightly as I touched his skin, hoping to find a pulse.

Not only was there a strong, steady pulse, but his skin was warm to the touch. I felt relief wring the tension from my body.

_One thing we know about Zuko is that he never gives up. _Sokka's words ran through my head and I smiled.

But where was the guard? I looked around, searched under the rubble, walked around the edge of the blast area. But there was no sign of him. He could have been thrown off the mountain. He could have been buried deeper than I could reach. He could be dead.

But one thing was for certain. He was gone. I could escape.

Exhilaration gave my legs a burst of energy. I could run right now...

_But what about Zuko?_

Zuko will be fine! I need to find Aang!

_So you're just going to leave him here?_

He'll make it! The earthbenders will come looking and they'll find him and take him back and I won't have to worry about him chasing us anymore!

_Is that really what you want?_

The question stopped me cold in my tracks. Just a month ago I would have given a hearty 'yes!" and run off into the woods. But something had changed. There was something inside of me holding me back. Duty? Honor? Words I'd heard often enough from Zuko's mouth, but words that didn't quite seem to fit in this situation.

Come on, Katara! You're going to betray your people by staying behind for this Fire Nation Prince? Have you no honor?

_He rescued me from the arrows when he could have just gone on without me. _

No doubt it was for selfish reasons!

_I don't know what his reasons where..._

_I don't even really know what my reasons are..._

_Do I?_

Just as I thought, Teikei came looking for me. He wore a wide, triumphant grin across his face like a banner.

"We won!" He shouted, raising his hands and letting out a whoop of joy. Then, stopping, he took in the destruction around me. His eyes widened when he saw the guard was gone, and Zuko was lying, still unconscious, on the ground. He gave me a quizzical look, and I just hung my head. I didn't feel like explaining. I was tired.

"Is he okay?" Teikei asked a healer, who was bent over Zuko, pressing and prodding, trying to find broken bones or inner injuries.

"Seems fine to me, just a little dirty. Let me clean him up for you." The healer said, pushing me from the room as two healer assistants came forward with a basin of warm water.

"Wait-" I said, but the healer had already undone Zuko's shirt and was pulling down the unconscious Prince's pants. I blushed and turned before the waistband got low enough to reveal... things. Teikei smiled and put a hand on my shoulder as he led me away.

"Don't worry. He'll be fine. You did good work today, Katara. You posses a skill that I've rarely seen before." Teikei's voice was full of pride. "I've ordered a bath set up for you. But don't get any ideas. It's in a room entirely devoid of cracks or vents." A twinkle shone in Teikei's eye as he hid a laugh.

Oooooh, it felt _so _good to be surrounded in my element again. The bath water was hot and smelled lightly of soap. I immersed my head and blew bubbles in the water, laughing at the tickling feeling they made on my lips and cheeks.

I soaked for as long as I could, but soon the water began to cool and I had to get out or risk freezing. I reluctantly climbed from the tub and wrapped myself in new earthbender clothes. The fabric was corse and stiff but warm. I sighed. It felt good to be clean again.

I walked slowly back to my room, thankful for the peace and silence of the halls. It was amazing how war could do that to a person: make them thankful for every moment of serenity, every moment not running or hiding.

I pushed the heavy door of my room open. And then stopped in my tracks.

Zuko was lying on the bed, still unconscious and completely naked except for a towel tied around his waist. Heat spread over my face as I stood there, looking at him. I'd seen him shirtless before, but never without his pants. His legs were toned, the lines of his muscles stood out even in his relaxed state. His skin still glistened slightly with moisture from the cleaning.

I stepped closer. The light cast by the fireplace played over the curves of his muscles, danced over every inch of him. I had been given new clothes, hadn't he?

Yes, there they were. Folded neatly by the cot. I waterebended the moisture off his skin and threw it into the fire. I listened to the flames pop and crack and hiss as the water evaporated in the heat.

_Is he cold?_

_No, of course not, silly. He's a firebender. _I touched his skin, just in case. A shock flew up my arm, just like that first night I'd touched him to see if he was warm. But this time I didn't pull back, I just waited. I let the fire arc through my body, fill my chest with heat, send my nerves sparking beneath my skin, until the shock faded, leaving in its place a warm, contented glow.

Golden eyes blinked open and looked at me curiously. Oh no. I'd woken him. But all I'd done was touch him lightly. Unless he'd felt the heat, too. Horror crept into me as I realized the situation I was in.

"I'm glad you're awake. You had me worried for a minute. I mean, I thought you were going to die and then I'd be left alone here with no one to help me escape." I said, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"What happened? Who took my clothes?" Zuko drew his knees up and looked around.

"You were knocked out on the mountain by a firebender catapult."

"What about you?"

"What about me?" This conversation was starting to sound familiar.

"Why didn't you escape?"

"It wasn't safe with firebenders running around."

_What? What was that Katara? _Well, it hadn't really been a lie. I _hadn't _been safe. I just wasn't thinking about it at the time. But why not tell him the truth? Why not come out and say 'because I didn't want to leave you behind'?

"Where are my clothes?" He repeated, once again bringing up the uncomfortable subject that he was completely naked except for the skimpy towel.

"Um.. Over there." I turned my head away and pointed in the general direction of the clothes.

"Those aren't mine."

"You're old clothes were dirty and ripped. These are your new ones."

"I refuse to wear disgusting earthbender clothes."

"Well, _your highness," _I stood, anger filling my voice at his arrogance. "Maybe you should just walk around like _that _for the rest of the day if eathbender clothes are so beneath you."

"I'd prefer that than to look like some ugly earthbending fool." He stood, also. The towel slipped a few inches, exposing the edge of his hip.

_I wonder if it will slip off._

KATARA! I tried to hide my blush, make it look like anger as I shouted "You will never look like an earthbender." It took me a few moments to realize just how cruel my words were. My eyes traveled to Zuko's scar. Oh no. I really hadn't meant it that way.

Zuko narrowed his eyes at me. "Get out." He hissed.

"Zuko, I didn't mean-"

"OUT!"

I slammed the door behind me.

Dinner was eaten in silence. Zuko was still angry. But I expected that much. I was working up the courage to try and apologize again. It was a battle. Every inch of me wanted to slap Zuko instead of apologize, but Gran-Gran's soothing words circled my thoughts and squelched the fury I felt toward him. Just then, a commotion broke out. I could dimly hear the shouts of soldiers just outside the dining room. I jumped from the table, following Zuko as we made our way out the door.

Several soldiers surrounded something. Something that was... on fire? An arc of flame lit the room and several earthbenders fell back, widening the circle. Zuko pushed the last bit of the way forward and faced a very angry, very dangerous firebender captive.

"We were just moving him to his cell when he snapped a link in his chains and broke free." I heard a soldier explain to Teikei, who watched the drama unfold with interest. The firebender's hands and feet were on fire. He stood, feet apart and arms outstretched, looking into the crowd with a wild, dangerous look in his eye.

"What is your name." Zuko spoke. The firebender whirled, looked at Zuko, and then grinned maliciously.

"Well, if it isn't the shamed, exiled prince of the Fire Nation. Everyone thought you were dead." The soldier's hands lost some of their flame.

"But look at you! Alive as the day you were born. And working on the side of these weak, earthbending scum! Not that it would come as a great surprise. You have always been the shame of the Fire Nation." He spat. Zuko's face was emotionless, his arms crossed, looking for all the world that he was bored and had better things to do.

"That is no way to speak to the future Fire Lord." Zuko said.

"Fire Lord! Ha! Your father was wise to exile you if you are such a fool as to believe a traitor such as yourself would ever sit on the throne. Do you think that your father so much as shed a tear over your death? Quite the contrary, my prince. A celebration is being held in your sister's honor. It is she who will be future Fire Lord! She who will lead our armies to victory! She does not show mercy. She does not bear that horrible mark of weakness that you-"

The strike came faster than my eyes could follow it. A bright flash and then the soldier was on the ground, unconscious, a nasty bruise showing on his temple.

Zuko pushed through the crowds, practically running. I followed. Finally, he came to our room. He threw open the door and stormed inside. He turned to face the fire. I wondered if he knew I was there. Silence filled the room for what seemed to be hours. I searched for something to say, but words wouldn't come. When the silence was shattered, it was Zuko who spoke.

"Do you want to know how I got this scar?"

Was this a trick question? I took a deep breath, but before I could answer he made my decision for me.

"I spoke out during a war council. One of the generals wanted to..."

He told the whole story. I stood in amazed silence as he spoke of the warm room. Of the cruel general who would have sacrificed an entire troop of men just for one victory. Of how he'd challenged the general and so had been forced to settle it in Agni Kai, a fire duel. How he'd not had to face the old man, but his own father. He explained, pain lacing his voice like poison, that he couldn't fight his father. He was a loyal son. To go against his father would be to say that he fought against the Fire Nation itself. He could never do that. But his father left him no choice.

Nausea made the dinner in my stomach feel heavy as Zuko painted a world of pain for me. So vivid was his description that I felt I was there, standing among the people as they watched their prince writhe in agony as his own father mutilated him. I could smell the burnt flesh, feel the horror of the young prince as his future was taken from him by the very nation he loved and served.

Zuko finished the story and leaned against the fireplace, as if exhausted simply from telling of his ordeal.

"I'm sorry..." I said, extending one hand to touch his shoulder.

"Don't pity me!" Zuko whirled on me, anger and anguish playing behind his eyes. "When I capture the avatar, my father will see me for what I am: A loyal son of the Fire Nation! He will welcome me back!"

I felt tears, hot and salty run down my face to rest on my lips. I wasn't crying for myself. I was crying for Zuko. All this time I'd thought... I'd convinced myself... that he was a monster. But he wasn't the monster. His father was.

If only he could see that. If only he would realize that a father's love could not be bought... not even with the Avatar.

He stalked over to the cot and laid down, a scowl contorting his otherwise handsome features. _Handsome? Since when did you think he was handsome? _But I was in no mood to argue with myself tonight. I crawled up onto the bed beside him and wrapped my arms around him.

He didn't pull away this time.


	15. Chapter 15

**Dangerous Ground**

**Chapter 15**

An unspoken truce existed between Zuko and I now. He did not speak of what he'd shared with me the night before, but the intimacy of the moment remained. We didn't need to speak of it. A month ago, I might have insisted, wanting to draw him out and reveal more of himself, but I learned something from Zuko. Sometimes, what is not said is just as powerful as what is said.

The little scene with the captured firebender did a lot for Zuko's standing in the Earthbender army. While before the soldiers had looked at him with suspicion or even hate, they now looked at him with a gentle kind of acceptance, almost as if his being shamed by a member of his nation made him one of them. Zuko would never have tolerated this kind of thinking if someone said it, but the soldier's kept their mouths shut and their thoughts to themselves.

We settled back into our old routine. Zuko would train the soldiers, with a little less reluctance now, and I would mend clothing, with as much reluctance as ever.

Alone in our room one night, however, I pushed aside my pride and got up the courage to ask the thing I'd wanted to ask for almost three months now, ever since he'd beat me with his fancy technique.

"How do you do that?"

"Excuse me?" Zuko asked, poking the fire and urging it to burn brighter. We were now in deep winter, and walls seemed made of ice.

"How did you beat me that first time?"

"Fire Nation fighting technique." He said it as if I were dumb. I sighed. Great. He was crabby tonight.

"I know that. I was wondering if... if you'd..." I began. He cocked his head at me and smirked. _Just spit it out Katara. _I said to myself.

"I want a rematch!" I crossed my arms and stared at him, daring him to refuse me. He considered me a long time, the fire flickering over his face, revealing nothing of what was going on in his head. After a long silence, he spoke.

"Yes." He grinned his little "I've-won-this-battle-already" grin. Hmph. Now he was in a good mood. That boy had more mood swings than a woman during her cycle.

Slowly he stood and began to unbutton his tunic. I averted my eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Just a little intimidation tactic." He smirked at me, now bare from his waist up.

"That's not fair! I can't do that." I complained. Zuko remained silent, that smirk still on his face. The silence was worse than anything he could have said. It could mean anything. It could be a taunt that once again, I was weak because I could not do something he could do, or it could be a dare. I blushed and got into a fighting stance. I wouldn't let him intimidate me. I was just as strong a fighter as he was! I'd proved it one more than one occasion. But I had no water.

"No bending." He said. I nodded. Then he came at me.

I ducked under his arm and brought my foot hard against the back of his knee. But he was ready this time, knowing that I'd picked that place out as my favorite weakness of his. He jumped and grabbed my shoulders, pulling me across his hip and knocking my footing out from under me. I landed on my knees and pushed my hands out, catching him in the stomach. He doubled over but recovered quickly, taking my arm and twisting it behind my back. I gasped and stiffened, but he did not hurt me, only whispered in my ear "Do you yield?"

A smile crept over my mouth. I turned to face him "Never." Our faces were so close I could feel his breath on my cheek. I held his gaze...

...And spun, kicking his side and pushing his shoulders back. He stumbled backwards, but came at me again, placing his hands on my waist and pulling me to the ground with force that I could not resist. He was on top of me, pinning me to the floor. He smirked. He'd won again. Unless...

I brought my knee up. Not high enough to hit anything sensitive, just high enough to knock his knee out from under him. In the split second that he lost his balance, I wrenched my shoulders up and over, knocking him to the ground beside me. Before he could react I was on him.

"Now who's uncomfortable?" I smirked. Zuko's eyes widened and he looked at me in shock. It was the same look he'd given me that day I'd tricked him into eating his soup. I smiled down at him and said teasingly "That's right, Prince Zuko. A water peasant has bested you."

To my surprise, he smiled. It wasn't a smirk, or a bitter sneer. It wasn't a triumphant, arrogant grin. It was a genuine smile. I'd never seen him do it before. But now, as I watched him, I wished he would do it all the time. He really was handsome when he wasn't scowling.

That's when I realized how close we were. Only inches apart. Our breath mingled together, our pulses raced in touching palms. Our gazes were locked on each other. I felt myself drawn to his eyes...

To his cheekbones...

To his mouth...

Our faces were almost touching now. His body was warm beneath me. No, not just warm... hot. Really hot, as if his blood had been replaced with fire. It felt good in the cold room. I closed my eyes and...

**Oooooh, what do you think is going to happen? Hee hee hee...**


	16. Chapter 16

**Dangerous Ground**

**Chapter 16**

Our faces were almost touching now. His body was warm beneath me. No, not just warm... hot. Really hot. It felt nice in the cold room. I closed my eyes and...

A knock came on the door. My eyes flew open, as did Zuko's. Whatever enchantment had been woven around us was immediately broken. I stood up, hurriedly arranging my skirt. _What had just happened? And why isn't Gran-Gran scolding me in my head like she usually does?_

Why should she scold me? I mean, I felt the same way about Zuko as when we first met him. He was my enemy! I would never want to... want to...

"Yes. We'll be down right away." Zuko was talking to the guard at the door. It must be dinner time. I straightened my skirt and fixed my hair, careful to avoid meeting Zuko's eyes. But I needn't have worried. He seemed just as careful not to meet mine.

The next few days were... unusual. Zuko's behavior was strange, to say the least. Not because he was yelling and throwing tantrums. That would just be Zuko being Zuko. No, what worried me was that he _wasn't _doing these things. Instead, he seemed lost in a world of his own. His eyes seemed focused elsewhere, his brow furrowed, as if he were working on solving some problem. I'd taken to staring at him. It was purely out of concern. Concern for his well-being. He was my enemy, but I could still express concern for him as a person, right?

"He certainly fights well, doesn't he?" I jumped. Teikei had leaned down next to me and was following my gaze to where Zuko was fighting. I quickly averted my eyes.

"Um.. Sure. I guess." I stammered. _Good job, Katara. You sound like a silly little child._

"Seems distracted lately, though. Doesn't he?" Teikei said nonchalantly.

"I guess. I mean, I really don't care either way."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow. I blushed.

"Well, it's none of my business what he's thinking."

"Aren't you curious, though? Usually the Fire Prince fights with such intensity and focus. Kind of makes you wonder. Do you have any idea what he's thinking about?"

"Haven't a clue." I shrugged.

"Don't you now."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Hmph. He's a firebender. What should I care what a firebender is thinking about? Probably it's about taking someone's land or executing someone."

"Is that what you really think?"

This was getting annoying, and he was prodding dangerously close to a sensitive area. I didn't bother to stop and wonder why the area was sensitive. I'd been aware of it for a while now, but I'd ignored it. But the area was growing inside of me, like vines slowly overtaking a building.

"Zuko's my enemy. I don't care what he thinks." I growled and attacked my stitching with renewed vigor.

I head Teikei sigh beside me. "Just as stubborn as he is, and twice as blind." I heard him mumble. I was about to question him about the cryptic and slightly insulting statement when he stood up and beckoned to me.

"I have a surprise for you. Come with me." I followed, my curiosity getting the best of me.

Through winding hallways and dimly-lit corridors we walked. It seemed to take forever. I was vaguely aware that we were walking uphill, as my legs began to tire and my breathing became more labored. Even Teikei seemed to be getting winded, and then we stopped. He was facing a wall. It was a dead end. He'd taken me to a dead end?

Suddenly, with a powerful thrust of his hands, the wall slid back and a gust of wind almost knocked me over.

I gasped and walked to the edge of the doorway. I was looking out at hundred of mountains, all circling the peak where I now stood. I was looking outside.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Teikei smiled, leaning against the doorway.

"Forty years ago I stood on top of this mountain and got an idea. An idea for an impenetrable fortress built into this very mountain." He closed his eyes as a gust of wind blew through his hair. I smiled and leaned into the breeze. It was icy, but it felt so good after breathing the stale air of the tunnels for so long.

"Wow. It's amazing." I stretched out my arms, letting the wind glide underneath them, imagining myself as a bird, flying far away from here. From war and confusion and sadness. But then, there was no place like that on earth. Everyone had been touched by the Fire Lord's power lust.

"Amazing, yes, and still free. Thanks to my men and I." He looked over the landscape, surveying it with a protective eye, like a mother platypus bear would do with her cub. I watched him in silence for a while. I could tell he was thinking, formulating words in his head.

"You know, when I was younger I wanted to be a healer." He said finally.

"A healer?"

"Seems strange, doesn't it? Here I am, leader of a Earth Kingdom rebel army, and all I wanted to do was be a healer."

"What happened?" I was genuinely interested in the story. I leaned my back against the doorframe and listened as he began.

"Well, I wanted to help people, and I thought the best way I could do that was to be a healer. I remember those days I used to spend among the elder healers of my village. I soaked up every little thing I could learn. I memorized every word they spoke. I thought it was my destiny to save people... And it was."

I blinked. How much stale air had this guy been breathing?

"Because of my men, and because I know how to lead them, these lands and their inhabitants are kept safe. If not for us, these mountains would have been overrun long ago by the Fire Nation, and thousands of people would have been killed in the process. I saved their lives.

"You see, Katara, I was sure I was destined to be a healer. To become a warrior was the furthest thing from my mind, it seemed to be the exact opposite of what I'd been trying to do all along. But, as I grew older, I found out I had the talent of leadership. Men came to me, listened to me speak out against the Fire Nation. They followed me, Katara, when the Fire Nation struck my town. I fought that day, and I saved my village.

"My small army started out with only twenty men, and now it's swelled to over five hundred. I had to let go of all the prejudices I had about warriors, all the selfish pride I had about becoming a healer. It's after I did that that I realized where my destiny lay all along. In saving people, yes, but not the way I'd planned it.

"Katara, I thought I would be betraying myself by becoming a warrior. It was only after I embraced my destiny that I found out how my heart had belonged there all along."

Silence now descended upon us, making the swish of the wind and the crackle of branches snapping together that much more pronounced. Finally, Teikei spoke again.

"Why are you telling me this?" I finally said, breaking the silence.

"Look inside of yourself Katara. You already know the answer."

He left me. The wall slowly closed, and I was alone.

What did he mean, I knew the answer? I had no idea what he was talking about.

But somewhere, inside that place I was afraid to look, I did know.

**Many, many thanks to my kind reviewers. You are my inspiration and my reason for writing!**

**If you're looking for another incredibly good fic to read, check out Vicki So's new one _Bent_.** **It's an incredible work using a new, exciting plot and realistic characterization. **

**I truly hope you like the new chapter I've added. Just wait till you see where I'm going with this...**


	17. Chapter 17

**Dangerous Ground**

**Beloved readers: I am so sorry the updates haven't been coming as regularly as usual. The Christmas rush has had me running an unable to spend any time on writing. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back up to the usual output of chapters once things settle down. Thank you for your patience and encouragement!**

**Chapter 17**

"Commander! Quickly!" The scout's face and clothing were drenched in sweat, his eyes wild and wide, like a hunted animal. He was panting, and his limbs visibly trembled as he stumbled into the training room. Immediately, all fighting stopped and a dead hush spread through the room like a plague borne on the wind.

"What is it, Sergei? I thought you were supposed to be patrolling the Eastern Border." Teikei stood.

"I was sir. They came... they came at night..." The scout paused, collecting his thoughts and catching his breath. "We didn't expect them. They came from the North. We... we smelled the burning...it was terrible. Whole... whole villages...sir. I... I..."

"Collect yourself." Teikei ordered sternly. "I want a concise report and I want it now." The brusk tone had its desired effect. The scout straightened and began again, this time more clearly.

"I was patrolling the Eastern Border with five other men as instructed, sir. After two days' traveling north, Moti informed us that he smelled smoke in the air. We followed the scent, and began to see ashes coming down like snow. It was another day's journey before we came upon the village. It had been completely razed. We started to search the village, but the Fire Nation had left some soldiers behind to ensure that no one knew of their activities. We were attacked. The other four men fought bravely, sir, but they all died. I ... I... fled." The scout looked down as tears of shame filled his eyes.

Teikei laid a comforting hand on the man's shoulder and spoke softly. "You did the right thing, son." Silence pervaded as the men waited for their leader to speak.

"Sergei, were there any survivors at this village?" Teikei put the question delicately, but the memories the words triggered turned the scout's face pale and made his body sway, as if he were ready to collapse.

"No, sir. Only bodies. So many bodies. Most were burned beyond recognition. Women, the elderly, children. Babies, sir. Babies."

"No! The Fire Nation would not slaughter innocents like that! There is no honor in it!" Zuko's hands were blazing as he challenged the scout. It was not the scout, however, but Teikei who spoke.

"Zuko, we've gone over this."

"Your scout is lying. He wishes to slander the honor of the Fire Nation!" Zuko took a step forward, ready to fight the scout for the honor of his nation. Teikei's face hardened in impatience.

"The Fire Lord knows that victory is within his grasp. He has become heady with his own victories. At this point, I do not doubt that he'd slay his own mother just to see the earth kingdom fall."

"AGH!" Zuko pulled back his fist and tensed in preparation to attack Teikei, but I'd anticipated the fight and was already on my feet and at Zuko's side. I stood in front of him and reached for his arm.

"No." I said. I ran my hand up his wrist, getting as close to his hand as I dared without getting burned. "Calm down. Let him speak." I whispered. My fingertips cooled his burning skin and he slowly put his fist down. I hid my surprise. It was the first time I'd seen Zuko let go of a fight.

"Earthbending scum! Who was I to think you'd understand the honor of the Fire Nation? You dwell in your filthy caves, feeding each other lies and inciting rebellion. What would you know of honor?" Zuko's voice was a deadly whisper.

"Lies? You think they are lies? Well, I will show you the truth,_ my Prince_." Teikei turned on his heel and walked out the door.

"Bind him and bring him with us. The Fire Nation will probably continue heading south from the Eastern Border. Gather the men and have them prepare for battle." Teikei called from the doorway. I saw his eyes linger for a while on Zuko, who was still fuming, barely held back by my hand on his wrist. He nodded, as if a final decision had been made, and left.

The ground was cold and wet beneath my feet, seeping into my boots and chilling my toes. For a quick minute, I wished I was a firebender. The thought was quickly banished, however. I looked over at Zuko. He hadn't said anything since his fight with Teikei in the training room, and that had been several hours ago.

Come to think of it, it had been almost half a day ago. It had only taken about an hour to ready and organize the men. As soon as they'd lined up, we'd begun marching. At first, I'd been excited. Teikei had promised me that I could march unbound and help in the fighting, though I'd have to stay back from the front lines.

But now the excitement was wearing thin. I was cold and soaked with the damp chill of winter. I'd waterbended the moisture out of my clothes and shoes every few minutes at first, but then I'd finally given up when they only filled with water again and again. I felt heavy with the damp. It seemed to press me into the ground and make the pack I'd been carrying feel as if it contained stones instead of food and blankets.

Besides the bodily discomfort, I was bored. It felt good to be out of the stuffy fortress, but now my legs were tiring and every tree seemed to look like the one I'd just passed. I tried to amuse myself by humming songs or playing waterbending tricks with the misty air, but even that lost its charm after the first few hours.

I tired making conversation with Zuko, but he only answered in monosyllables, if he answered at all. I began to worry. It wasn't like Zuko to remain so silent. He should be shouting insults and making threats. After all, that's what Zuko did when he was angry, wasn't it?

_Maybe he's not angry._

Of course he's angry! What else would he be?

I turned to study Zuko's face. Yes, I saw anger there. But it was mingled with something else. There was a battle raging within him. I could see it in the desperate shifting of eyes, the tight creases between his brows, the way his eyes bored into the ground ahead of his feet, as if the earth could yield up answers.

_What is he struggling against?_

Before I could make any comments, though, the troop came to a sudden halt. I peered around the broad shoulders of the Earthbender in front of me and saw Teikei making gestures in the distance.

"What's going on?" I whispered to Mr. Burly Shoulders.

"We're stopping to make camp." He explained, slinging his pack to the ground with a thud that caused vibrations to travel all the way up into my boots. I followed suit, placing my pack on the ground by my feet. I stretched aching shoulders and pulled the cold, soaking water from my clothing. A sudden cheer rose from the soldiers.

"What?" I tapped Burly Shoulders again, who was talking excitedly among the other soldiers in front of me.

"Teikei says that we're far enough from the site of the Fire Nation's attack to risk building fires tonight." His eyes smiled at me, as if he'd just been given a tree that grew pies instead of fruit.

The thought of fire being to risky had never occurred to me. I had taken it for granted that we'd be warmed by the glow of a fire each night. What would happen when we got closer? I shivered, not wanting to think about it.

I looked around me. Soldiers had begun to set up camp, pulling out sleeping mats and stacking firewood. I began to set up mine, but a voice stopped me.

"One moment there, Katara. You and Zuko will be sleeping at the center of the encampment. Makes it harder to escape." Teikei winked at me and led me to an unoccupied bit of ground in the middle of the camp. I nodded to him and he left, leaving me with a patch of wet ground, soaked kindling, and a sulking Prince. Life was just getting better and better for me.

I started by waterbending as much water as I could from the earth beneath our mats. That accomplished, I began collecting firewood for the fire. Like everything else, it was permeated with icy winter water. Now what? I looked around at the other soldiers. They'd all brought some kind of powder that sparked and flamed when they struck flint over it. I had no such magic powder.

I looked at Zuko. He was bound, wrist to wrist, making it impossible for him to firebend. I sighed. Maybe I wasn't going to get a warm fire tonight. But then Zuko got to his knees and bent over the kindling. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a minute. I watched in awe and fascination as he parted his lips and blew a steady stream of fire into the kindling, causing it to spark and sputter to life. He sat back and looked objectively at his work.

"Thank you." I said softly. He shrugged.

I pulled out the night's ration of bread and dried meat and handed Zuko his half. He took it wordlessly. I began to feel concern for him again. His face was calm and emotionless, but his eyes betrayed a storm brewing inside.

I took a deep breath. "What's troubling you?" I asked.

"It's none of your concern." I flinched at Zuko's harsh tone. He'd not spoken to me that way since the day the Fire Nation soldier had ridiculed him. He'd opened up to me that night, and a silent bond had been forged, a truce. I frowned. I wasn't about to lose that ground again.

"Yes, it _is_ my concern."

"I don't owe you any explanation." His tone was still harsh, but I was relieved that he didn't throw a 'water peasant' insult into the sentence somewhere.

"No. You don't. But you're troubled about something and I want to help."

"I don't need any of your help!" Zuko snapped. Okay, I had to admit, I had used the wrong choice of words. "Help" and "you" should never be used in the same sentence when addressing the Fire Prince. I sighed and tried again.

"Is it that you're tired?" I knew it wasn't the problem, but Zuko would never admit weakness, and in defense of his strength he might confess what was bothering him.

"I am not tired! I am the Prince of the Fire Nation! I do not tire."

"See, that's your problem. You're too hard on yourself. You're too hard on everyone. Can't you just lighten up? Does everything have to be a battle and a test of strength with you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

He shook his head, lips pressed firmly together. Great. He was closing up on me again. I groaned inwardly. I was on dangerous ground with him, again. With the right words I could collapse every shaky bridge of trust I'd built with him, or I could open new roads into his thoughts.

"Zuko, do you believe in this war?" The question had surprised him, and he jerked as if he'd been slapped.

"What?"

"I was just wondering if you really felt like this war was a good idea or if you just like going around bullying people." I clenched my fists beneath the fold of my dress, trying to suppress the trembling in my fingertips. It was too late to go back now. I had to see this through to its finish.

"How dare you insult-"

"I'm not insulting anyone. I just wish to know one fact: do you think for yourself, or do you simply follow your father blindly?"

"You foolish, simple-"

"Answer my question, Zuko."

"I don't have to answer to a-"

"Are you afraid?"

"Ha!"

"Then answer me!"

"Of course I think for myself!" His voice was raised now, and in my peripheral vision I could see the faces of several soldiers turn to look in our direction.

"Then you agree with what your father is doing? You agree that it is right to annihilate and enslave the other nations? To create imbalance among the elements?" I lowered my voice.

"Whether I agree with his actions or not is irrelevant." Zuko turned his face from me, but I could see doubt flicker in his eyes for a moment before his face was enveloped in the growing darkness outside the circle of the fire.

"So you will follow him whether you agree with him or not? Do you really believe his is so perfect-"

"It is not for me to question." He looked into the fire again, his gaze intensifying, his eyes narrowing. I saw a shiver run up his body, as if he were wracked with a sudden pain.

My eye was drawn to the scar on his face and I realized the meaning behind his words. He had been scarred for questioning. He'd been mangled and exiled by his own father, by the very nation he'd loyally served.

_Yes, he served his nation. That was what he was doing when he spoke against the slaughter of the 41st division. He was serving his nation. It is his father who is the traitor... but Zuko is too wounded to acknowledge what he knows to be true. He is too scared._

_Just as I am..._

I did the unthinkable. Before I could stop myself, before I could snatch my fingers back, bury my instincts beneath a pile of reason and argument, I touched him. I brought my fingertips ina gentle, feather-light sweep over his scarred cheek.

The electricity hit me, but I didn't pull away from it this time. I allowed it, let the fire run up my veins, let the sparks warm my hand and dance invisibly over my skin. Zuko's eyes widened and he opened his mouth, but he seemed too stunned to speak.

"You are strong, Zuko. Your father cannot, or chooses not, to see it, but I can." I left my hand where it was, tracing the crimson border of the scar.

Zuko was getting over the shock, and his eyes betrayed a turmoil of emotions conflicting inside of him. He started to pull away from me, his stubborn pride and Zuko-ness taking over his expression. He was fighting himself. Always fighting.

But I wouldn't let it happen. I scooted closer to him. Inches apart, I brought my other hand up to his face. My hands were trembling slightly, but I didn't let it break my concentration. "Zuko." I whispered, locking his golden eyes in my gaze. I felt him shiver slightly.

"You don't have to fight." I held his gaze. It was difficult. His stare was so piercing it almost hurt. I almost felt as if he were firebending with his eyes, burning my own, setting me on fire inside. I felt his hand reach up to grab my wrist. He pulled at it half-heartedly. His hands were hot, more so than usual. They seemed to warm my arms from the inside out.

I realized that it wasn't just his hands that were warm. The fire seemed to have grown hotter. But was it the fire? The very air seemed to crackle with the intensity of flame. I was burning, surrounded by heat, but it felt good.

I felt his breath on my face.

_You shouldn't be this close to him._

His eyes were so beautiful. They glimmered like gold melted in a furnace.

_You hate him._

We moved almost imperceptibly closer to each other. The air warmed further.

_He is your enemy!_

He is a person.

_He is a firebender!_

He is no different from me.

_He is stubborn, egoistical, dangerous-_

Strong, compassionate,truehearted, passionate...

I closed my eyes. I was so close I could feel the heat from his skin.

"Ahem."

I jumped. A blush as hot as Gran-Gran's oven spread over my cheeks as I looked up at Teikei, who was trying to conceal a smile and failing miserably.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your... um... conversation, but I wanted to remind you we'll be leaving early tomorrow, so try to get some sleep. In other words: don't try escaping. Even if you make it past the sleeping soldiers, we have sentries posted around the encampment." He pointed to the formidable looking guards who stood around the camp, watching for Fire Nation soldiers.

"Katara, I'm giving you charge over the prisoner. He's yours to do with as you please." The mischievous twinkle in his eye betrayed the double meaning of his words. I blushed further and for the first time felt like slugging the leader of the Earthbender army.

He walked away and I stood. I preoccupied myself with brushing the dirt and wrinkles out of my dress. The silence that ensued was more than awkward. What had just happened?

Nothing. Nothing happened. We were just talking. That's all. I nodded to myself, satisfied with the answer. I began to stretch the kinks and aches out of my muscles. I reached down and touched my toes, letting the fire warm my face and arms. I placed my hands on my hips and rotated my shoulders, working away the indents in my shoulders left by the pack.

I looked over at Zuko. Maybe he was already asleep. I'd taken a while to stretch and twist by the fire, surely that had been enough time for him to drop into sleep. To my surprise, he was watching me. His amber eyes were flickering in the light from the fire, tracing me against the night sky.

"Time to go to bed, I guess." I said sheepishly as I crawled next to him.

"Maybe we shouldn't." I was surprised by the tone of his voice. It was husky and thick. I looked at him quizzically.

He leaned back on his elbows and crossed his legs. It seemed to be a posture of aloof relaxation, but there was something stiff in his movements that struck me as unusual. Was he coming down with something? Did firebenders even get sick?

"What do you mean?" I questioned him.

"We don't want them getting the wrong ideas." He nodded to the sleeping soldiers. It was a good reason. So why did I get the feeling he was lying?

_What could he be hiding from me? _

I shrugged. Maybe I was just being silly. Zuko was right. We didn't want to give the soldiers any ideas. I rolled over and pulled the blanket up to my chin, letting sleep come and take my concerns away. Before reaching that place of blissful unconsciousness, however, I realized that Zuko was still up, staring into the fire.

Would he always remain such a mystery to me?


	18. Chapter 18

**Dangerous Ground**

**Chapter 18 **

I awoke cold and shivering that night. I got up and stoked the fire. It burned brightly, sending sparks to dance in the air. I rubbed my shoulders and cast a longing look at Zuko. I would have given my left arm to sleep against his familiar warmth, as I had done every night since the day I'd gotten the cold sickness.

But no. What would the firenation soldiers think if they saw us cuddling together? They might think that we had feelings for each other. They might even think that behind the closed door of our room at night we...

I shook the idea out of my head. It was a great dishonor among my people for a person to give his or her body before marriage. I would never want them to think that I would do such a thing, for I hadn't, and I wouldn't.

_What am I doing?_ I put my hands in my head. _I'm defending my honor when I don't even have feelings for this... this firebender. _I turned to look at him.

Stretched out on his mat, Zuko's body was lit by the ambrosian light of the fire. His chest rose and fell slowly and deeply. Even in sleep, however, the Prince appeared on edge. His face drawn into a frown, his muscles tense, as if even in his dreams he waged some mortal battle.

Fighting. Always fighting. I narrowed my eyes at him and tried to hate him. I had no trouble doing so just a few months ago when I'd had to care for his broken ribs. But now, as I stared at his prone form, I could not manage to dredge those feelings up. If anything, I felt something else...

_What's wrong with me? _I covered my face with my hands and moaned.

_Nothing's wrong with you. What you're feeling is natural._

I'm not feeling anything!

_Are you being honest with yourself, Katara?_

I moaned again. I threw another piece of kindling into the fire, causing ashes and cinders to fly into the air. I warmed my hands, enjoying the feel of the heat against my freezing fingertips. It was a nice fire, bigger and more brilliant than the fires of the other soldiers around us.

Wait... why did we even have a fire? Back in the room Zuko and I had shared, the fire would die every night. So why did this one still burn? I looked at it intensely, hoping I could find the secret in the flames, but they yielded no answers.

Warmed, I returned to my mat and pulled the blankets over my head. But between the cold and the thoughts that sloshed in my head like water in a bucket, I found rest as flighty and elusive as a sparrow. I muttered a curse when I saw the sun rise golden over the horizon.

Most of the soldiers were already up, including Zuko, but I lay on the mat, clinging desperately to the last shards of night.

A jolt of energy hit me when a hand was placed on my shoulder. "Time to get up, Katara." Zuko's lips were just above my ear, whispering me awake. Warmth spread inside my body like cream spilling onto the floor. I frowned and pushed the feeling aside as I rolled up my mat and hefted my pack to my shoulders.

"Here. Breakfast." Zuko handed a piece of fruit and bread to me from his pack. I took it and smiled at him. I saw a twitch at his lips, but he turned his head quickly and busied himself with packing his blankets.

We moved out in a matter of moments. All traces of our camp were covered with diligent care as we merged into the forest around us, melting into the woods like the last traces of night in the dawn sky.

We walked all day. It was just as monotonous as the day before, and just as wet. A thick mist hung in the air, icy and clinging. I gave up trying to amuse myself and just put one foot in front of the other.

In front of the other...

In front of the other...

In front of the other...

What I wouldn't give for Aang's cheerful jokes to lighten the somber mood. Even Sokka's whining would have been a welcome change from the grim silence in which we marched. I wondered sadly if Aang and Sokka were okay. Was Aang learning the other bending skills? Was Sokka well fed and safe? What would Gran-Gran say if she knew I'd lost him? Would she say I was a failure?

_Everyone is put exactly where they should be. God sees to it. _She'd comforted me with those words when I'd cried to her at night, begging for my father to come home from the war. If everyone was where they should be, then I was meant to be marching with these soldiers, though what purpose it served was beyond me. What good could I do while trapped here? What was I supposed to accomplish?

"What's wrong?" I turned to see Zuko staring intently into my face. His expression was as severe and dark as usual, but I'd gotten good at reading his eyes, and they betrayed concern.

"Nothing. I'm just thinking about Sokka and Aang." I mumbled.

"Oh. The avatar and the... water tribe boy." Zuko's brow furrowed. "Do you miss him... them, I mean." Zuko's voice was gruff.

"Of course I do! I think about them every day."

"Why?"

"Why wouldn't I? Aang is my good friend, and though Sokka can be a bit annoying at times, I do love him!"

"You shouldn't waste your love. He is not even a good warrior. I beat him without even trying."

"Agh! What is it with you? There are other reasons to love people besides just their battle strength!"

"So if you don't love him for his strength, what could you possibly love him for?"

"He's my brother! Isn't that a good enough reason to?"

"Brother?" Zuko's eyebrow lifted in surprise for a moment, and then he turned from me, a blush creeping into his face.

"Of course! Didn't you-" Oh, wait. How could he know? I'd never told him, and Sokka was about my age, and from my Nation. I started laughing.

"Did you think that... you thought..." I doubled over as the laughter chocked my words. Zuko's face reddened further with anger and embarrassment at his mistake.

"It was a reasonable conclusion! You are surely of marrying age now, aren't you? What's wrong? They can't find a man in your village who will be able to stand you long enough to marry you?" His words were meant to sting, but I knew it was only because I had been laughing at him. I'd wounded the fragile pride all males, and especially princes, were born with.

"No, as a matter of fact, your highness, all the men in my village have gone off to fight this stupid war. Anyway, I'm glad I wasn't placed in an arranged marriage. The boys in my village were always so immature and silly. What about you? I would think the Prince of the Fire Nation would have a bevy of exotic ladies to chose from." I teased.

"I did." Zuko admitted. I raised my eyebrows.

"Courtship and marriage arrangements in the Fire Nation begin when a child reaches thirteen. It's horrible." A look of distaste crossed his face, as if he'd just swallowed a bug. I giggled.

"It couldn't have been that bad. Surely there must have been many pretty women to chose from."

"There were." Zuko frowned. "But they were like Taisas flowers. Beautiful to look at but covered in poison. They would have just as soon murdered another who stood in their way as they would buy a new gown."

"Murder! Why?"

"Greed was the usual reason. Most were consumed by it, that or a lust for power. Most would have killed their own parents if it meant a chance to bed me and win the honor and prestige bearing a royal heir would produce." Here Zuko blushed a little, and I felt heat creep into my own face. He hurried on,

"They hid it behind face paint and their demure little smiles, but Iroh taught me to see it. He helped me to see their cruelty and ambition before they could trick me with their false beauty. He taught me to protect my heart." Zuko shut his mouth and narrowed his eyes. He was undoubtedly beating himself up for revealing himself to me again.

"I'm sorry. That must have been hard."

He shrugged. "I was exiled before an arrangement could be made."

"Oh." I looked at my feet.

"Don't feel sorry for me. In this instance, exile was a good thing. I wouldn't have had any say in who I was betrothed to. That is up to the Fire Lord." I looked at him in surprise. Had he just said something positive? I smiled. His lips twitched again, but he turned before anything more than that could show.

I sighed. Well, at least I was getting somewhere.

We'd marched all day, stopping only for a short time for lunch. It was cold, wet and miserable, and when we finally dropped our packs for night, I was thankful.

"No fire tonight." I heard Teikei say from the head of the troop. Several men mumbled disappointedly.

We quietly made camp. A hush had fallen over the troop, as if the danger was a muffling blanket. Zuko and I said little to each other, but little needed to be said. I fell asleep, shivering slightly on my mat.

"AGHHHHH!" A scream woke me some time that night.


	19. Chapter 19

**Dangerous Ground**

**Thank you again, beloved readers, for your support and encouragement. I dedicate this story to you. I truly hope you have enjoyed it, and will continue to enjoy it over the next several chapters.**

**Chapter 19**

It was a war cry that broke the stillness of the night. I blinked in the darkness, my world a swirling mass of confusion as the blurred edges of sleep mingled with the sudden panic of reality.

"They're attacking!" I heard a soldier's distant shout. I gripped the blankets, feeling suddenly very alone and very helpless. I searched for the canteen, but it held only a few drops of water. I had planned on filling it up at the next stream. Now I might never get a chance to. I was powerless, naked without my water and at the mercy of the firebenders.

Firm, warm hands gripped my shoulders. I screamed. A hand went over my mouth. Panic lanced my heart. Only a firebender's hands would be that hot in the middle of winter.

"Shh. It's me." Zuko's low voice brought a wave of relief over me so intense that I felt like collapsing.

"Stay close. Don't let go of me." He said. I nodded, though there was no way he could see the gesture in the pitch black that surrounded us. The moon and stars had been hidden behind clouds, and no fires had been permitted.

I saw a blaze of light in the distance so bright it made spots wiggle in front of my eyes for a moment. Firebenders.

All around me was shouting, screaming, the thud of earth being moved and thrown, the hiss of fire as it streaked through the air. I clung to Zuko, who remained still and wrapped an arm around my shoulders protectively.

Soon the woods were on fire around us. In the growing light I waterbended a small amount from the sopping earth beneath my feet and held it in front of my face, ready for the attack.

But it never came. The yells died down and the fires were soon put out, leaving only a small bonfire around which the soldiers were clustered.

"Come on." Zuko tugged me behind him as he marched up to the soldiers.

On the outskirts of the circle, we could not see what was going on, but we could hear Teikei speak, though his voice was almost drowned out by the excited murmur of the other soldiers.

"What's going on?" I tapped one of the earthbenders.

"The party of firebenders that killed Sergei's men attacked us. We killed them all, but there are some wounded men."

"Let me through, please." I said, squeezing between the girth of two large earthbender rebels. They parted for me, and I led Zuko along behind me. Arriving at the ground where four earthbenders lay groaning and clutching burnt limbs, I began to collect water from the ground and heal their lesions.

"The attack means that we're close. We should arrive at the village by tomorrow. Once there, we can track their movements. We know the land better than they do, so we should have little trouble catching up to them if we move swiftly and do not stop often." Teikei spoke to the men clustered around him.

"Since we're all up anyway, we might as well start marching now. Dawn will come shortly, anyway." A collective groan rose, but the men went obediently back to their mats to pack up.

We had just stopped for lunch a little while ago when I began to smell it. Ashes. Smoke. Death. I covered my nose. I noticed the other soldiers sniffing the air, detecting the same scent that I did. We were getting close.

A short time passed, and I saw that the ground was becoming more and more darkened. I stooped and pressed my finger into the dirt. But it wasn't dirt. It was a crumbling, flaking substance. Ash.

We reached a clearing. A meadow. The soldiers began to fan out, searching the edges of the clearing. The ash was thick here, coating everything from the tree limbs to the ground in a dense black blanket. I heard something crunch beneath my feet and looked down.

Something sparkled in the cold white light of winter's afternoon. I bent down to pick up the shard. It was pale pink, with some designs in the center of it. I brushed the ashes away and realized that it was the face of a porcelain doll. I smiled, I'd had one myself as a child. But what was a doll doing out here in the midst of a fire-blackened meadow? I looked around and noticed a strange shaped log beside the fractured pieces of the doll. I reached out my hand to brush the ashes from the log...

"Katara, no!" I heard Zuko's voice dimly before my world dissolved in a wave of horror. As my fingers brushed away the ashes, they revealed the face of a woman. She was beautiful, young, perhaps no older than I was. In her arm a child was curled, one arm wrapped around her mother while the other held a porcelain arm. The doll. It had been the child's doll.

The child was dead. The mother was dead. Something was hurting my hand. I looked down blindly at the shard of the doll's face in my palm. I was squeezing it so tightly that the edges were cutting my skin, causing blood to fall, hot and red down my palms.

I reached out to touch the child's face. She was so beautiful. Maybe she was only sleeping. Blood was still running down my hand, faster and in more volume now. I didn't feel the pain. I didn't feel anything.

"Katara!" Hands grabbed me, ripped me away from this place of horror. I registered Zuko's face in dim recognition as he pried my fingers open and took the shard of the doll from me. No. He couldn't take it. It was that girl's. I had to give it back to her. She would wake up in a while. She would want her doll back.

"It's okay, Katara. Speak to me." Zuko was looking at me, worry plain on his face. "Speak, Katara!" He said, his voice rising a little. I opened my mouth, but words didn't come out.

I vomited all over the ground.

"Uuuuuuuuh." I rubbed my head and opened my eyes, blinking in the light. Why was I still asleep? We should be marching out again. We needed to get to the village.

The village.

Memories swarmed me and caused my stomach to twist, but thankfully I'd already thrown up everything I'd ever eaten, and there was nothing left. I must have blacked out after vomiting. I was suddenly aware of two strong, warm arms holding me. I found strength in that embrace. I faced the little girl's memory, and accepted it. I nestled into the arms, not wanting to leave this place of safety.

I twisted up to look into Zuko's face, but he wasn't looking at me. His gaze was fixed somewhere in the distance.

We were still in the middle of the meadow. Only it wasn't the meadow. It was the town. Covered in ash, I couldn't tell the difference between the destroyed remains of the buildings and the bodies of the Fire Nation's victims, but I didn't want to. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the wave of nausea to leave my stomach.

I waited for a few moments, and then looked back up at Zuko. Reluctantly leaving his embrace I turned and sat across from him. He was in a state of shock, too, though he was handling it very differently from me. Horror haunted his features, but mingled there was also disbelief and the firm lines of anger.

"Zuko..." I whispered. He remained silent, but there was a grim set to his face, as if he'd reached the conclusion of a terrible decision.

"There is no honor in this..." His voice was so low I barely heard it.

"They were children... mothers... they could not fight back... not against trained firebenders..." He wasn't speaking to me. He was somewhere else...

"There is no honor in it!" Zuko's voice was so loud that it echoed off the mountains. I jumped and watched as flames licked at his wrists and fingertips.

"Zuko." I whispered again, placing my hand on his chest. He pulled away from me, but it was not in anger, it was in a sudden decision. I watched him as he walked over the ashes to where Teikei was gesturing to a group of rebels.

I sat alone in the ashes. He was right. There was no honor in the slaughter of these innocents. I cried there. I cried for the bodies of the children, I cried for the mothers, who died with babies in their arms. I cried for the elderly, who held each other as their town was consumed.

As their lives were consumed.

"There are footprints here, leading west. I suspect that they'll attack the town to the west." Teikei had built a fire a ways from the village. All of us had been thankful to put some distance between us and the graves of so many innocent people. Exhausted from the course of the day, I had dropped to my mat and prepared to drift off into a restless sleep, but then I'd noticed that Zuko was preparing himself by washing his face and brushing off his clothes.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"To the war council." He said emotionlessly.

"But... I thought... since you're a firebender..." I didn't want to insult him, but I had a hard time believing that Teikei would allow Zuko into the war council.

"He gave me permission. Stay here and get some sleep." He said before turning and striding off to where a group of men were circled around a small fire, conversing in low tones.

_There's as much chance of that as leaving a bowl of pudding in front of Sokka and expecting him not to eat it. _I thought to myself as followed him in the shadows.

I found a hiding place in the bushes a few feet from the war council. Careful not to make any noise, I squatted behind the evergreen needles of the juniper bush and listened, picking out the low voices as they were carried to me on the wind.

"The Fire Nation is moving west, as is evidenced by the footprints. I suspect they will attack Du-Shing next, sweeping in over the mountain ridge." Teikei said.

"Then we should prepare a counter attack from the east and meet them head on before they can reach the town!" One of the advisors spoke up, a man with a deep, booming voice that seemed to make the earth rumble beneath my feet.

"I say we follow their trail and attack from behind, at the crack of dawn, when they least expect it!" Another advisor said, pumping his fist in the air.

"The Fire Nation will expect an attack."I recognized Zuko's voice. Silence crackled loudly in my ears as I waited breathlessly. "They will have scouts patrolling ahead, behind, and to the sides miles ahead of their army."

"What are we listening to this firebender for?" Booming voice said with a note of disgust. "He could lead us right into a trap."

"I have allowed Prince Zuko to come to the war council by his request. We will listen to him, and accord him the respect that we would give each other." Teikei warned. The council fell silent until Teikei spoke again. "So, Prince Zuko, what do you suggest we do?"

"Do not attack at dawn, this is when a firebender is strongest. Do not attack by day at all. Set up an ambush and wait for nightfall."

"Night? We'll be setting ourselves up for slaughter!" A disbelieving advisor said.

"Would you like proof? Call Katara. Her element is ruled by the moon, and she could easily beat me tonight." He pointed upwards at the nearly full moon. A blush rose into my cheeks. Zuko was praising me in front of the other council members and somehow that act gave me an obscene amount of pleasure.

"Prince Zuko is right. I have heard of this. I think he has the right idea." Another advisor spoke, a little hesitantly, but loud enough to be heard.

"How do we know we can trust him? He is one of _them, _or have you all so easily forgotten? It's plain on his face!" Booming voice pointed at Zuko. My breath caught in my throat. He'd insulted Zuko and pointed out his scar. I shut my eyes, not wanting to see the fight that would ensue when Zuko invariably lost his temper.

But there was no fight.

Zuko simply looked calmly at the man and spoke in a firm, controlled voice. "I will be traveling with you. I will be fighting with you. Your death would be my death."

"How do we know?"

"I give my word as a son of the Fire Nation."

"Ha! I would not trust the word of a son of Lord Ozai any more than I'd trust a thief not to steal!"

"I said 'son of the Fire Nation, not 'son of Lord Ozai'." Zuko said softly. Silence descended on the circle as the weight of what Zuko had just said settled on them. I felt a shiver run up my spine.

"A long time ago, my nation had great honor... my father was a fool to abandon that honor in lust for power." Zuko's face lifted proudly in the firelight. He did not hide his scar, and it flamed all the brighter, a further testament to Ozai's ruthlessness and dishonor.

Teikei stood. A flash of brilliant silver reflected in the firelight. A knife. My eyes widened. Teikei brought the knife up and slashed it down in front of Zuko...

...severing his bonds.

Zuko worked his wrists and rubbed at the chafed skin. He made no move to fight, and slowly the advisors breathed a sigh of relief.

"We will do as Zuko says. I trust him, as should you." Teikei walked from the council, signaling the end of the meeting. Zuko stood also and started walking.

He was walking towards me. My eyes widened. He reached behind the bush and yanked me to my feet, gazing at me with piercing golden eyes.

"Spying on the war council is punishable by death in the Fire Nation." He said, mouth set in a firm line. I raised my hand to prepare to fight, but he grabbed my wrist and, with one quick movement, flipped my over his shoulder.

"I'll be merciful today, since I'm in such a good mood. You can be my prisoner and make me dinner." He said as he carried me back to my mat. I struggled, but he held me firmly. Finally, I couldn't hold it back anymore. I broke out in a fit of laughter that felt so good after the events of that day.

Dinner was plain, but it tasted good. Zuko had built a small fire and we'd toasted our bread and meat over it. After dinner, I crawled onto my mat and looked into the darkness. The images of the day haunted me, and I shivered.

"Are you cold?" Zuko asked from his mat a few feet from mine.

"No... just... thinking." I said. I heard a rustling and then felt his arms wrap around me, the familiar scent of fire and smoke and Zuko's body comforted me.

"What are you doing? They'll think-"

"Let them think." He said, ending all argument. I was glad. I didn't want to argue. I wanted to just lay in his arms.

For the first time in two nights, I was warm.

For the first time in two nights, I felt safe.

For the first time in two years, I was genuinely happy.

For the first time in all my life...

I felt...

And sleep overtook me.

**Oh, I do hope you liked it. Holds her breath and hopes desperately that her readers liked it Hopefully, I'll have more very soon. It's all mapped out and just a matter of writing it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading. I look forward to seeing you in the next chapter.**

**Author's Note: Did you know that Ginseng tea is used to promote... um... how do I put this so it's safe for any of my young readers... it's used to promote stamina and performance and to stimulate certain hormone-producing glands. wink wink (My mother is an herbologist and I read her books when I can't fall asleep at night).**

**Hmmmm... makes you wonder why Iroh is always trying to feed Zuko ginseng tea, eh? **

**Grandchildren, anyone?**


	20. Chapter 20

**Dangerous Ground**

**Chapter 20**

My breath sounded loud in my own ears, and my heart thudded in my chest, a steady _thrum thrum _that matched the vibrations that were traveling through the ground and up my boots.

They were just below me in the valley now. My breathing quickened.

A catbird call pierced the night. I jumped and looked toward the sound. Unscrewing the lid of my canteen, I readied myself, feeling the water, focusing on it, letting its energy tingle in my fingertips. It would be just a little while longer now.

I shifted under the weight of my pack, relieving the cramps in my legs. Twenty men had donated their canteens to me and the weight was beginning to take its toll on my thighs as I squatted behind the bush. I only hoped I would be alive to give the canteens back. A second call came and I tensed. It meant the army had stopped and was bedding down for night. It was just as Zuko had predicted.

Zuko. I closed my eyes and saw his face burning behind my eyelids. The image gave me strength, though I didn't want to stop and ask myself why. The questions and feelings that had been welling up in me would be saved for answering at another time... a time when I wasn't crouched behind a bush in sub-zero temperatures just a short distance from a firebender camp.

Three calls. Time to move. Slinking through the forest, I imagined myself as a wraith, a shadow that flitted between trees but made no sound. My heart pounded in my chest, and I was sure the firebenders could hear it. The catbird called again, guiding me to the encampment. I silently thanked Sergei for his perfect mimicry of the bird, and for volunteering to be the one to scout ahead and alert me when the firebenders began to set up camp. The rest of the soldiers would be getting into position now... waiting for my signal.

Suddenly, I saw fire flickering between the trees ahead of me, tiny spots of light that quivered in the distance like gaudy stars fallen to earth. It was the Fire Nation camp. My breath caught in my throat and I stopped.

_Katara, what are you doing? You can't do this! You're just a simple water tribe girl far from home. _Self-doubt filled me as I stood there, shrouded in darkness, just a few paces from the edge of the firebender camp.

_Who do you think you are? You should have said turned Teikei down this morning when he asked you to do this! Do you really think you're brave enough? Fast enough? You're going to be killed! You're going to let them all down! You're nothing but a water peasant!_

Clutching the edge of my tunic I waited with a hammering heart, listening to the accusing voices that ate away at my courage, poisoning my heart with bitter words. _Water peasant water peasant water peasant! _They chanted. My foot lifted from the ground, but it wasn't going forward... it was stepping backwards into the safety of the darkened forest. I was going to fail. I wasn't strong enough. I was nothing but a water peasant.

NO! My eyes flew open and I glared at the fires that hovered in the distance. No! I clenched my fists and stomped my foot into the earth, the frost-hardened soil cracking beneath my boot. No!

I am Katara of the Water Tribes. I am a master waterbender. I am strong even when I am weak. I will not fail. I will not give up.

I crept to the edge of the camp, listening to the throaty snores of firebender soldiers and sizing up the ten or so small campfires they'd made. This would be so much easier with more than one waterbender. But I pushed the thought aside as I took a deep breath, gathering my courage and commanding my shaking legs to firm beneath me. I raised my arm and felt the thrill of battle replacing the stomach-turning fear in my blood.

I pulled a long whip of water from the canteen and sent it snaking quietly over the sleeping soldiers. In lighting motions I sent the whip into the firebender's campfires, putting them out in a matter of moments, the snapping and hissing of evaporating water filling the night, which had turned as black as charred wood.

An earthshaking yell rent the air as 500 earthbending rebels swept into the camp. The ground trembled beneath my feet, the thudding of their boots mingling with the screams of surprise and confusion as the firebenders woke to find themselves fighting an invisible enemy.

The firebenders were at a great disadvantage. The earthbenders could remain unseen, but the firebenders were easy targets in the dark, their glowing hands a dead giveaway to their positions. The earth heaved and cracked as the rebels pelted the firebenders, who were still stumbling around half-awake and confused. Finally, however, they gathered their wits and adopted a new battle plan: Throw fire at anything that was not throwing fire at you.

That's when Teikei brought out a secret weapon. An arc of flame lit the sky and mingled with the flame of another soldier, knocking the man to the ground. The firebenders shouted and began to panic as fire turned on them. Zuko let out a war scream that tore through the night like a knife through silk. It was bone-chilling and inhuman, as if he were crying with the voices of the hundreds of slaughtered innocents.

I joined in the scream, adding a wailing, shrieking tone that froze the men in their tracks as only a woman's scream could. I flew into the fray, lashing out with my whip, striking the fire from the hands of the bewildered firebenders.

By the time dawn broke, clear and bright on the eastern horizon, the battle had ended and seven hundred firebenders lay dead or bound at our feet. I knelt on the frozen earth, feeling the cold seep into my knees and cool my boiling blood. I took a deep breath and exhaled, watching the curling wisps of moisture dance from my lips in the morning air.

"You did good work, Katara." Teikei said, placing a hand on my shoulder. His face was streaked with dirt and his eyes were red and tired, but he carried himself with the stature of one who has beat the odds and come out the victor. I looked at the ground modestly.

"I did nothing, really. I didn't even kill any of them. Just put out the fires." I was proud of that fact. I didn't want to kill, I wanted to hold to the peaceful ways of my people for as long as I could.

"All the same, you played a vital part in the victory today." Teikei smiled at me. I felt as if I'd just been given one of the most precious gifts in the whole world. I beamed back at him. At that moment Zuko walked up. His clothes were so singed they were practically falling off his body. I shook my head at the images that flooded my mind at that realization.

"And you!" Teikei turned to Zuko. "I've never seen any man fight like you before." Zuko nodded, accepting the praise.

"Teikei's voice lowered to a somber, serious tone. "I would like to ask you something." Zuko stiffened as he looked at Teikei warily.

"I would like to offer you a permanent place among my army, as my second in command."

Teikei couldn't have surprised Zuko and I more if he'd put on a kimono and had begun dancing around the camp with flowers in his hair.

"You are a strong warrior, and have knowledge of the Fire Nation that I have not attained even after forty years of fighting. It would be an asset to have you on my side... and an honor." Here Teikei bowed low before Zuko, who stood frozen in his place, his eyes betraying a whirlwind of emotions. I sighed internally. This is the part where Zuko would arrogantly throw out some earthbender insult and storm away.

But he didn't. The whirlwind died down in his eyes, and, turning to face Teikei, he placed his hands together and bowed. "No, sir, it would be _my_ honor." Now it was Teikei's turn to look surprised. I couldn't hid a little gasp of my own. Something had changed in Zuko since that day in the village, and whatever it was, I was definitely liking it. Teikei held out his arms and scooped Zuko up into a giant bear hug, chuckling wholeheartedly.

"Will wonders never cease?" He finally released Zuko, who straightened his tunic and gave Teikei a little rebuking glare.

"Well, back to work." Teikei's face settled into a grim frown. "The bodies will be buried, and the prisoners brought to the king of Omashu. He'll use them to barter with the Fire Nation for the release of earthbender soldiers."

I stood and walked past Zuko. The scent of smoke and sweat hung heavily on him, but I was not repelled by it. "I should tend to the wounded soldiers." I said, giving Zuko a quick glance. He was burned in a few places, but they were minor. Teikei held up a hand.

"No, my dear Katara, you've done enough today. Thanks to you, we suffered no casualties, and any wounds my men have received are superficial. They can wait until you are rested and have had a chance to bathe."

My eyes closed in pleasure at the thought of my element soothing and cleansing my body. Oh, it would feel so good!

"There are some hot springs nearby. Walk east and you'll hear the stream. Follow it North and you'll come to them." Teikei pointed east. "It's not far. You should be able to go and come back with plenty of time to reach us by nightfall." I nodded a polite thanks to Teikei and started into the brush.

"If I were you, I'd not venture into the forest alone." Teikei warned me before I could get far. I turned and sent him a questioning look.

"There could be firebenders in the woods that fled the battle. And don't forget that these mountains are heavily populated by platypus bears." I furrowed my brows at Teikei. How could he tease me like that? How could he give me the hope of being able to bathe and then snatch it from me with the warning of bloodthirsty firebenders and bears?

Teikei turned to Zuko and crossed his arms in an authoritarian gesture. "As your commanding officer, my first order to you is to escort this young lady to the hot springs and bring her back unharmed." Zuko's stepped back in shock, a series of emotions flickering in his face so fast I didn't have the chance to read them.

"Really, you don't have to do that... I'll be fine." I stammered.

"Why not? I'm sure he'll be a perfect gentleman and cover his eyes." Teikei winked at me. My face burned as a blush lit my cheeks.

"Aren't you afraid we'll escape?" I asked, grasping at whatever excuse I could. I really wanted to go into the water... but the thought of undressing while in the presence of Zuko brought a flush of excitement and a shiver of nerves that I didn't want to explore right now.

"I trust the word of a son of the Fire Nation." Tiekei said solemnly. There was nothing to say to that. Not without offending Zuko, at least. I turned and started walking, hoping my hair, which had become undone in the heat of battle, would hide the blush and the quickening of my breathing.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" I said, desperately trying to make small talk to cover the awkwardness as we walked through the woods to the hot springs. Zuko only nodded.

"Amazing. Night was so dark. It's hard to believe that after all that death, all that horror, day still dawns and things go on as they have since the Earth was created." I sighed. "Nothing changes."

"Some things do." I turned to face Zuko, and found his golden eyes studying me, gazing at me in such a way that sent shivers racing from my head to my toes.

"What do you mean?" I whispered. I hadn't meant for it to be a whisper, but there was something intoxicating in his stare, and it stole my breath as easily as wind would pluck leaves from the trees in fall.

Zuko turned from me, giving me no answers.

But I didn't need any.

I already knew...

"Further!" I shouted at him. We'd arrived at the hot springs and I was taking my time in making sure Zuko was far enough away for me to feel comfortable. He obediently took a few more steps into the woods. "Further!" I shouted. Zuko growled. I decided to let it rest. He was far enough. Quickly I slipped off my dress and slid into the water. It was so hot I yelped.

"What's wrong?" Zuko shouted in the distance.

"Nothing." I yelled back, hoping he wouldn't come running to my rescue. I was still wearing my blue chemise, but it didn't change the fact that I didn't want him to see me bathing.

I immersed myself in the water, letting it comfort me, heal my bruises, carry me on silken waves. I closed my eyes and moaned in pleasure. I floated for a while, enjoying the feel of my element against my skin. Did firebenders derive this much pleasure out of handling fire? My thoughts turned to Zuko. I felt warmth fill me, warmth that far rivaled the hot springs in intensity. I spread my arms out in the water, thinking of the masculine curve of his shoulders, the passionate, fiery gold of his eyes, the way he looked when a rare smile graced his lips. His lips...

A shiver ran up my body despite the warmth of the hot springs. It was not entirely unpleasant. I smiled and spread my arms out against the pool.

"AGH!" I clutched my hand. Blood poured in a tiny rivulet from a cut just below my knuckles. A sharp stone, red with my blood, jutted from the side of the pool. I must have brushed my hand against it while I had been... _what had I been doing? _

Daydreaming about Zuko.

_No... I am still just very tired from battle, that's all. I'm delirious from exhaustion._

No you're not. You were daydreaming, and enjoying it.

"What happened?" Suddenly the object of my internal battle was standing in front of me, a flame dancing in his hand as he searched the forest around me for the source of my distress. A blush covered my face like butterfly wings.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scream so loud. I guess I'm still a little jumpy. It was just a rock, see?" I held out my hand to him. He cocked his head, examining it. I smiled. Zuko was concerned. He was trying to hide it, but I'd spent enough time with him to be able to read the emotions that lay behind his golden eyes. The Prince of the Fire Nation was worrying himself over a Water Tribe peasant's tiny wound!

"I'll be fine." I said as I placed my hand beneath the water's bubbling surface. My hand glowed an ethereal blue for a moment, and then the cut slowly closed. Zuko nodded at me and started to walk away. That's when I noticed the burn marks and scratches that marred his own skin.

_How could you be so selfish? You're here enjoying the hot spring while he has to sit and wait, covered in battle wound as he is? For shame, girl! _Gran-Gran scolded me. I sighed.

"Zuko! Wait!" I called after him. He turned, and then quickly averted his eyes. I blushed and dropped further into the water to hide my womanly curves.

"You need some healing, too." I reached my hand out to him, inviting him to join me. My head filled with a thousand reasons not to, but I pushed them away. Hopefully, my instincts would prove better than Sokka's.

"I do not need healing." Zuko said, still staring at the forest to my left, not meeting my eyes.

"Zuko..." I murmured as I reached for his hand "You do not have to prove your strength to me. I know you are strong."

Zuko watched me for a while, fighting. Still fighting with himself. Maybe some things would never change.

But slowly, ever so slowly, he got down and slid into the water next to me. We were face to face, the small pool only allowing a few hands' breadth to separate us. I reached up slowly, the pale blue of healing water glowing against the skin of my hand, and touched the abrasion on his face. I closed my eyes, letting the energy course through my body and into the water. I felt the wound heal, felt my fingertips tingle as they touched his now-unmarked skin. The water drained from my fingers, dripping down Zuko's jawline and spilling down to darken his tunic.

My hand stayed where it was. My gaze had become transfixed in the golden flames of Zuko's eyes and I was bound with a more effective binding than any rope or chain on earth. I stared at him, meeting his gaze unflinchingly. I realized that it may be a breach of etiquette to be so bold. Surely none of the ladies in Zuko's court would have met their Prince's eyes. For good reason. I found it hard not to look away. His gaze was so intense, it seemed to burn me just in looking at him.

But I did not back down. I lifted my chin defiantly. Then I felt a warm hand touch my wrist. I remembered suddenly that I was still touching his face. I blushed and went to pull my fingers away, but Zuko's hand remained tightly gripped around my wrist, holding me in place. I could feel the heat of each finger. Slowly he slid his hand up my wrist to clasp my hand. I parted my lips as my breathing became quicker. Before I could stop myself I reached out and placed my hand against his chest. A shock ran through me with such power that I gasped. I felt my legs begin to buckle underneath me, but then felt Zuko's hand on my lower back, pulling me close against his masculine body. I gasped again, but did not break his gaze. I was lost in it...

"Are you feeling alright?" Zuko's voice snapped me back to reality and I jumped out of his embrace automatically.

"Yes... I'm fine. Really."

"You were trembling."

"Oh, I'm just tired, that's all."

"Maybe we should head back, then."

"No! You need more healing."

"I'll be fine until we get back." He said, taking my hand and leading me from the spring.

He picked up my dress and wrapped it around me while chastely averting his eyes. _He really _was_ a gentleman_. Zuko evaporated the water off of his clothes in a cloud of steam while I waterbended the moisture into a puddle at my feet. That done, we set out into the forest.

I was still reeling a little. _What just happened? _It seemed I was asking myself that a lot lately. I looked up at Zuko, who was walking beside me silently. There were so many questions running through my head. Most I didn't want to know the answer to. But I did know one thing for sure.

Zuko was right...

Things were changing.

In more ways than one.

**Wow, that was a fluffy chapter. I hope it was not too much for you. I really wanted to deepen Katara's relationship with Zuko, though, so therefore: Fluffiness. Thank you, dear readers, for all your wonderful reviews so far! If not for you, the light would have gone out of this story long ago. Give yourselves a hand!**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

**Four Months Later.**

The morning was cold and cruel. Dawn had crept into the seared and blackened battleground, the fine streams of wavering sunlight sending wisps of vapor into the sky to mingle with the tendrils of smoke that still reached into the air like the rippling arms of wraiths.

I walked among the ashes and felt the still-warm earth heat the soles of my boots. Everywhere splashes of red peeked from beneath boulders and piles of uprooted earth. Sometimes, it was the uniform of a fortunate firenation soldier that had simply been trapped. Other times, it was the blood of one who had been less fortunate.

But deaths were kept to a minimum. A live firebender soldier was of far more value to us than a dead one, since live soldiers were used to barter with the Fire Nation. Even so, there were still fatalities on both sides. Those I couldn't help, and I'd learned long ago not to grieve over every lost soldier, for if I had I'd surely have gone crazy within a month. No, I spent my thoughts and energy on those I_ could_ help.

I spotted a short, stocky earthbender sprawled on the torn battlefield. He was cursing under his breath and sweating despite the cool of early spring's morning. I pulled the cork from my canteen and knelt beside him. He looked up, surprise and happiness evident in his expression, and stopped swearing.

"Miss Katara." He nodded his head to me and lifted his hands off a nasty gash in his right thigh. I closed my eyes, placed my hand above the wound, and let the healing force of the water draw energy from me, flow through my fingertips, and heal the cut.

A sigh escaped the man's lips and he nodded to me again. "Thank you, Miss Katara. I owe you one."

"Don't start counting now," I laughed "By the time you get wise enough to keep yourself from charging firebenders ten times your size you'll owe me your firstborn." I teased as I got up and continued my rounds.

The teasing was meant to lighten the mood after battle, but it was true that many of the men owed me their lives many times over. For this, I'd gained the respect and admiration of every earthbender in the army, which was a sizable number. Over the past four months the ranks had swollen to over seven hundred men, with new recruits coming in every week.

But I owed them my life, as well. On more than one occasion I'd been caught in a very literal crossfire or had found myself almost crushed beneath the hooves of a Komodo dragon, but one of the soldiers had always been there to save me. It was just what we did for each other. Like a family.

No where was that more evident that with Zuko. Teikei treated him in all respects as if he were his own son, and the act was not going unrewarded. Zuko had lost none of his fiery temper or princely surliness, but he was beginning, very slowly, to lose some of the desperation that had haunted him for so long.

A saw something move in the corner of my eye and turned to see the red uniform of a firenation soldier as he twisted and pulled himself along the ground and toward the treeline. His arm was twisted unnaturally at his side and he bled from several cuts on his shoulders. From the way he dragged himself, he'd undoubtedly broken one or both of his legs, yet he still had the determination to try and escape. I smiled as the trait reminded me of a handsome young prince I knew.

I ran to him and held his only good arm, halting his escape. He fought, but he was weak from loss of blood and shock. I uncorked my waterskin and pulled out a ribbon of water to heal his shoulder, but he pulled away as if I carried the plague.

"I don't need your healing, waterbender!" He spat at me, yellow eyes burning with hatred. I looked into those eyes for a moment, struck by their familiarity. Hadn't those same eyes stared at me only a few months ago? Yes, they had. But they'd stared out at me from a different face.

Zuko's. He'd looked at me with the same mistrust and anger the first day he'd found out he was my captive. Back when I thought all firebenders were evil and not worthy of my healing. A lot had changed since then... for both of us.

Gently I reached forward and placed my palm just above his skin, letting the water work its healing. The man writhed at my touch and yelled at me. "Don't touch me, waterbender!" He said the title as if it were the strongest curse he knew how to utter. "I don't need your healing."

"You do need it, and you will receive it." I said, ignoring him and finishing the healing. The soldier continued to gripe, but the relief his was evident as his muscles relaxed, his breathing evened out, and some of the color returned to his cheeks.

"Ashmi, come here please." I beckoned over a young new recruit. "Find one of the healers and have him splint this soldier's broken bones." I instructed as I got up from beside the firebender. Ashmi bowed deeply to me and ran off into the crowd of earthbender soldiers that were mulling around the battlefield.

I brushed the dust and ashes from my skirt as I began to look for Zuko. After asking around for a while, I gathered that a few had seen him slip into the woods to scout for any escapees.

_Typical Zuko._ I sighed to myself. _Everyone else is resting from the battle and he's still fighting. _I walked into the woods, looking for any sign of his passing. Of course, he had left none. I continued walking, feeling the weariness of battle slowly melt from my bones as the cool breeze washed the smell of smoke and blood away. I stopped to admire the tiny buds of a Mapine tree, their pink and green leaves were still curled in tiny balls, a promise of spring's return.

I closed my eyes and stretched out my arms, letting the breeze tangle in my hair and carry the scent of thawing earth and early-blooming flowers to perfume my clothing.

Suddenly, two hands were wrapped around my waist. I didn't jump or scream. I recognized the warmth of the hands to be that of a firebender's, but the gentleness with which the arms held me were that of only one person.

"Zuko." I whispered.

"Now, what's a young water peasant doing out here in the wilderness, completely unprotected?" I felt his cheek brush against my neck, felt his breath warm my shoulder, sending tingles of heat to spread across my neck and then continue down through the rest of my body.

"I'm not unprotected. I have a spoiled young prince around here somewhere watching out for me." I leaned into his touch and felt him draw me in, pulling me tight against his body.

"Really? How do you know he won't just leave you to the firebenders?" His voice was deep and throaty in my ear, like a lion guarding his prey. I twisted around in his embrace so that I was facing him, staring up into his golden eyes.

"I don't think he would. He needs me too much." My voice dropped into a murmur.

"What makes you think that?"

"Because..." I closed in on him quickly, stopping just inches from his face. The action had its desired effect. The smirk fell and the prince took in a quick breath. "He needs someone to patch him up after he spends his nights fighting like a cat with nine lives." I pulled away a bit and lifted my chin, peering at him over a defiant little smirk of my own. I felt his body heat up subtly.

"Zuko? Katara? Where are you?" Teikei crashed through the bushes in the distance like a komodo dragon with twenty legs. Wordlessly, we let our embrace slip and stepped back a few paces from each other before Teikei bounded into view.

"We're moving out now. Would you two like to join us?" Teikei raised an eyebrow and smirked irritatingly. Something he'd picked up from Zuko.

"No, I'm coming. Zuko was just scolding me for walking alone in the woods." I said carelessly over my shoulder as I headed back to the scarred battlefield.

"Heishing. It's just a little north of here. We should stop by and restock on supplies." Teikei was bent over his map again, a line of thought crossing his brow.

"We _are_ getting low on thread." I admitted reluctantly.

"The men have been complaining about not having enough burn ointment." Zuko said. I shot him a glance and mumbled "Wonder why..." Zuko was still training the recruits, and was just as merciless as when he first started. Most came away with minor burns and singes that they simply treated with ointment.

"That settles it, then. We'll take twenty men on a detour to Heishing and restock tonight while the rest stay here and wait for us to get back. It'll be safer that way." He stood and shook the wrinkles from his tunic.

"Katara, I'm putting you in charge of buying thread."I felt a bud of excitement blooming inside of me. In the five months since my capture I'd only been able to visit a few of the towns we stopped at on the way to or from battles. It had always been too dangerous before. I smiled as I hurried off to gather my pack.

Heishing was a small town, but it was as busy and bustling as any of the larger towns I'd visited. By the time we got there night was falling, resting a heavy hand of gathering darkness over the town, but the cheerful fires of many torches lit the streets and kept the night at bay. Merchants called their wares with operatic voices, trying to be heard above the crying babies strapped to thier mothers' backs. Warbling, off-key singing could be heard coming from the open door of a tavern, where also came the smell of roasted duck and boiled vegetables. We lost a few men there, as Teikei generously gave them leave to enjoy themselves until they were needed to carry home supplies.

Gleaming on the tables of merchants were beads and jewels of every kind. Pearls gleamed iridescent white among the blood red of rubies and shimmering blue of sapphires, clustered in boxes crusted in gold and lined with velvet. Here we lost a few more men, who desired to bring something home for their wives and daughters. We passed stands containing swords and shields and armor, and tables covered in fresh fruits.

By the time I arrived at the weaver's I was alone, except for Zuko. He blended well with the shadows in a dark cape and a hood pulled low over his face, but he seemed to take no solace in the disguise, tensed and turning at every little sound.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to go look at swords and knives and other things that firebenders should never get a hold of?" I asked.

"I don't like this place." Zuko said. His eyes, mirroring the torches, scanned the crowd with an uneasy suspicion. "I'm not comfortable in this town."

"So you've suddenly taken up an interest in sewing?"

"I've taken an interest in making sure you don't open your mouth to anyone you shouldn't." Zuko's words were biting, but I knew it was just because he was about as comfortable around marketplaces as a cat was comfortable underwater.

I ignored his comment and walked into the store, knowing that macho, Mr. Prince Of The Fire Nation would be punished enough just having to follow me into a sewing shop.

"Hello dear, how can we help you today?" The gravelly, kind voice of an old woman caught my attention. I turned to see a white-haired lady sitting on a cushion. Her hands, knobbed with age, were working with deft precision on a tapestry of mountains and a village. She smiled at me, her face creasing with a thousand wrinkles, reminding me strikingly of Gran-Gran. My heart broke a little and it must have been evident in my expression.

"Ah, you look like your love marooned you on a desert island and sailed away with your favorite sweater! Come tell Gramma Mae what's troubling you." The old woman patted an overstuffed cushion on a rickety old stool beside her.

"Oh! Nothing's wrong. I've just come to buy thread." I said, quickly trying to hide any traces of sadness.

"Ach! Do you think Gramma Mae was born yesterday? She knows a broken heart when she sees one! Tell me, it was a boy wasn't it? A boy broke your little heart, didn't he?" I heard Zuko scoff behind me. My face burned. Just to defy him, I turned to the woman and began to walk toward the cushion she had indicated to me.

"No, actually. I... I'm just feeling a little homesick." I felt myself pulled into the stool, which was actually a lot more comfortable than it looked. I sank into the cushion and watched the old woman get comfortable herself, dropping her weaving and sinking back into her cushion as she looked at me with wise, motherly eyes. I felt tears prick my eyelids as Gran-Gran's image floated hazily in my mind.

"Ah, far from home, are you?" Her voice was warm and welcoming, drawing me out.

"Well... yes."

"Hmm... I suppose the Water Tribes are a bit far from the Earth Kingdoms, aren't they?" She smiled and winked at me. Great. Was it that obvious? I had thought I blended pretty well in the green earthbender tunics.

"That necklace _is _a Water Tribe betrothal necklace, is it not?" She asked. A blush settled on my cheeks.

"No! I mean, yes, it is... but I'm not-" I stammered.

"GIRLS!" The woman shouted so loud that I almost jumped right out of my cushion. Suddenly three bright eyed little girls about Aang's age scurried around the corner and stood by Gramma Mae.

"Take the gentleman in the back and show him our fine gloves. He must be growing bored standing there listening to two girlies chat." Zuko stiffened. I saw him push himself against the doorframe as the girls came over to tug at his arms and cape.

"I don't need gloves." Zuko said gruffly as the girls continued to tug at his arms.

"Nonsense. They're the finest cloth in all of Heishing." The woman waved her hand at him, encouraging him to follow the girls. Zuko resisted, but all three children pushing and pulling at him threatened to reveal his disguise and he eventually had to follow.

"Now, what's a young woman from the water tribes doing all the way out here, betrothed to a firebender no less?" The woman smiled at me and raised her eyebrows. My head swam and my pulse quickened as I fought with myself on which question I should deny first. Finally, I composed myself enough to speak.

"How did you know he was a firebender?"

"Last I knew, waterbenders didn't have golden eyes."

"But he was wearing a hood!"

"A bit of snow on the roof doesn't meant the windows are iced over." Gramma Mae said. I stared at her blankly. She sighed and explained.

"Just because I'm old doesn't mean I can't see. I've got sharper eyes than most, dearie, and besides that, the room got warmer when he walked in. These old bones feel cold like a knife, and a bit of warmth, even a candle's heat, doesn't go unnoticed. Must be nice to cuddle with him, eh?" She giggled like a little girl and I felt a blush cover my face from my forehead to my neck.

"I don't- we haven't- I'm... I'm not betrothed! And certainly not to a firebender!" I said, straightening.

"Why not?" The old woman's question startled me out of my indignation.

"What do you mean, 'why not?'"

"Why 'certainly not to a firebender'?"

"Because... he's... a...a... firebender!" I grasped for words that wouldn't come. The old woman was becoming increasingly irritating.

"Listen to me, dearie, and listen good. I was young and stupid once like you. I had a man once that I looked at the way you look at that young firebender, and I was foolish enough to let it slip away. Now learn a lesson from an old woman." She laid her head back and closed her eyes. For all appearances, she seemed to have gone asleep. I blinked in the growing darkness and wondered if I was in the same room with someone very wise or very insane.

"GIRLS!" She bellowed. This time I really did fall out of the cushion. Three little girls came running from the back room, followed by a very provoked looking Zuko.

"Give the young lady ten spools of thread, and bring a bowl of soup. We do not send customers away hungry."

"No, really, I'm fine." But the bowl was already in my hands, and it smelled delicious. My stomach rumbled as it distantly remembered the rich foods of home, so different from the tough, long-lasting army rations.

I ate the whole bowl. By the time I was done, the sky had darkened and night had taken hold of the little town.

"Katara? Are you here? I thought you'd be done by now... the men are looking for...you..." Teikei's voice trailed off as he stepped through the door and his eyes locked on something.

Gramma Mae.

"Hello Teikei." She said softly. She rose from her seat with a grace that belied her age, and pressed a bowl of soup into his hands.

"Radish and rabbit. You always liked it." She said. Teikei nodded as he accepted the bowl, opening and closing his mouth as if it had suddenly become rusty and needed working to let words out again.

"Thank you, Mae." He said.

"Don't forget to visit me again." She said. Her voice was light, but sadness hovered on the edges. He nodded again, and then turned and walked from the shop. Zuko and I followed, each one lost in his own thoughts.

I did not ask Teikei about the old woman, or about the soup, or about anything that had happened that day. As far as I was concerned, I wanted to put the town as far behind me as I could. We joined the other soldiers on the road and started from the town. All of the men, except one, carried packs heavily laden with supplies. The one man who didn't was stumbling and slurring drunkenly.

"He had a bit much to drink in the tavern. Started talking to this woman. I caught him before he said too much." One of the soldiers, the man's close friend, defended to Teikei as he glared disapprovingly at the drunken solder.

"Did he talk to anyone else?" Teikei muttered to the soldier as we neared the outskirts of the town.

"No, just the girl. She was talking to him all night, giving him drinks. I think she was a girl for hire. Wore a veil over her eyes and all." The man whispered the last part. Teikei nodded, but his mouth was set in a grim line that meant he was not at all happy.

"What's wrong?" I lay beneath the thin blankets that covered our camp mats. It was still another day before we'd get back to our base, and I looked forward to the heavy wool blankets that awaited me there.

But for now, Zuko was the only thing that kept me from freezing at night, and he still hadn't come to bed. He was sitting stiffly by our dwindling fire, staring intensely into the night.

"What's wrong?" I asked him again, hoping that we could resolve it and he could come to bed for my own selfish reasons.

"Something's not right." He said. A cold chill ran down my back. Zuko's voice was grim and serious. I sat up and scooted closer to him.

"Have you talked to Teikei about it?" He nodded.

"What did he say?"

Zuko shrugged. "He posted some more sentries."

We fell silent for a while, a sense of foreboding hanging above our heads like a dark cloud. I was tired, and my mat looked tempting, but the thought of leaving Zuko alone by the fire with only his suspicions to accompany him through the night did not sit well with me. I rested my head on my hands and watched the flames dance in front of my face until I could not keep my eyes open any longer and I fell asleep sitting up.

When I awoke, all was screaming and smoke and chaos. The sun slit through the layers of smoke that choked the breath in my lungs. I gasped, but there was no air. Only smoke...

And screaming...

And confusion...


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

I gasped for air. If I could just breathe, maybe things would make sense, maybe I could gather my head. I ran, clutching my chest against the smoke that filled my lungs as I searched for air.

I stumbled over something. I tried to get up, but my foot was tangled. I bent down to yank at the strap my foot was caught in, but the strap was connected to something else. I found myself staring into eyes glazed over with death. An earthbender body. I screamed.

Air! I needed air! The smoke was stinging my eyes, burning my throat, searing my lungs. I gasped despite the pain of breathing, but found the air a little purer close to the ground. I gulped in as much as I could take and then stood. My head was spinning. The smoke. The yelling. Where was I?

_Get a hold of yourself, Katara. _I closed my eyes and cleared my mind.

Water. I need to get water and find the source of the smoke. I searched along the ground and found a canteen strapped to another lifeless body. I pulled it off the limp shoulder and uncorked it. I lashed out at the smoke with a water whip, creating a small clearing in front of me as the whip parted the air. I lashed out again and again, traveling in as straight a line as I could over the bodies that lay sprawled on the ground. Most were earthbenders, but I few wore the red of a firebender soldier. Every black strand of hair, every dimly glowing palm, every lifeless pair of golden eyes I came to sent a jolt of fear through my body as I prayed they didn't belong to Zuko.

Finally, I came to the edge of the camp and the source of the smoke. A blanket soaked in some kind of black substance was putting off volumes of it. I gathered all the water in the canteen and soaked the blanket, putting out the fire that fueled the smoke.

I found another water skin and sprinted along the edge of the camp. Sure enough, another burning blanket was set up a few feet down the line. I put it out and continued forward. Using water skins and moisture from the thawing earth, I put out at least ten blankets. As the smoke cleared, I saw in patches a desperate battle being waged.

Firebenders, wearing patches of cloth over their mouths, were killing the dazed and choking earthbenders with a frightening efficiency. I ran into the fray, slashing out at the bursts of flame with my water whip until my legs gave out from beneath me.

I sat on the ground, breathing the quickly-purifying air greedily. Through the dissipating haze I saw a figure raising his hand and shouting quick commands to the firebenders. His mouth was covered in the same cloth as the rest, but his eyes were clearly visible. They burned with an malevolent evil I'd not seen in anyone, firebender or not. Firebenders began to appear at his side, emerging from the smoke and running off into the woods as he beckoned them and barked orders.

It was strange how high his voice was. It must have had something to do with the smoke. But actually, a lot about him was strange. Even the way he walked. He strutted like the rest of them, but there was something different about his walk... a little more wiggle in his hips. And his uniform seemed deformed, as it protruded too much in the front, almost as if it were made for a...

...Woman? I blinked, but the figure was gone, disappearing into the forest along with the last of the smoke. I stood shakily to my feet and looked around me. The firebenders had gone, leaving only bodies and stunned earthbenders.

Death was everywhere. The camp seemed covered with the bodies of slain earthbenders. I felt nausea well inside my stomach and pull at the back of my throat, but I pushed the feeling aside as I searched. _Where is Zuko?_

Stumbling among the bodies, I felt panic begin as a tiny shiver of cold that grew into a torrent of icewater that filled my veins and froze me to my spot. Suddenly, I didn't want to look. I didn't want to find out the truth. I didn't want to be alone. I didn't want to be without Zuko.

"Zuko." I whispered. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before scanning the crowd of dazed earthbenders.

A dark flicker of hair caught my attention. It was pulled into a high topknot and belonged to a figure who was kneeling in the midst of the chaos. _Please, please let it be Zuko. _I repeated as I began to run to the spot.

It was! Relieved sobs rose in my throat and spilled over into tears of joy that cut channels through the dust and soot on my face.

"Zuko!" I shouted, trying to catch his attention. He didn't turn to me. Other earthbenders had gathered around him, watching him.

"Zuko!" I shouted again. He still didn't turn. He was kneeling beside something on the ground. More earthbenders were gathering. "Zuko!" Why wouldn't he look up? Relief turned to curiosity, and curiosity turned to horror as I saw what he was kneeling by.

It was a body.

The body belonged to Teikei. I froze, just feet from the fallen leader. My feet moved me closer against my will. My eyes saw what I willed them not to see.

Blood trickled from Teikei's mouth, and his face had become as pale as a full moon. His eyes gazed listlessly at sky while his chest rose in fell in short, erratic gasps. I wanted to scream, but the sound caught in my throat and echoed around in my head a thousand times, building and roaring until I thought I wouldn't be able to stand it anymore.

I took a step forward. I could heal him! I could...

I felt a restraining hand on my shoulder. "There is nothing you can do now, Miss Katara. He is beyond our help. He is beyond anyone's help." A soldier whispered to me. I didn't want to hear his words. I wouldn't! I was going to help him! I was going to heal him!

But I didn't move. What my mind couldn't accept, my body could, and I stayed where I was, standing among the shocked faces of the surviving earthbenders. I looked back down at Teikei, and could see him struggling against encroaching death. Zuko knelt by his side, his hand gripping the old warrior's as if it were the only thing holding him to earth.

"Zuko." Teikei rasped.

"I'm here." Zuko's voice was strained, and he was visibly trembling as he looked into the eyes of the man who'd served for the past five months as his leader, his counselor, and the closest thing he'd ever gotten to a real father.

"You are now the leader of these men. They will serve you as faithfully as they have served me. I trust you with them, for you're a better leader than I ever was. They'll see that eventually." Teikei moved his hand to his belt and dragged his short sword out of its sheath and into Zuko's hand. He took another breath, but his body was wracked with a coughing fit. Blood trickled down his lip and Zuko wiped it away with a corner of Teikei's tunic. It took a few moments for Teikei to gather his strength again, but when he did, his words were strong and forceful.

"I was too busy training and fighting to have the one thing I wanted more than anything else. Zuko, this war will end someday. I pray that you will see that end, and that you will have a chance to have something I was never able to have." Teikei gazed hard into Zuko's eyes and then swept the crowd around him in one searching glance. His eyes finally landed on me, and I felt my heart well with compassion for him. He looked at me for a moment, and then looked back at Zuko. A tiny smile lifted the corners of his mouth, as if he knew a great secret.

He closed his eyes and took his last breath. A great mourning cry went up from the earthbenders.

Two tears slid down Zuko's face.

Clouds had gathered and thunder rumbled on the craggy peaks of the distant mountains, which had become blurred as sheets of rain sliced through the sky. It was as if the whole world were weeping for the death of the rebel leader.

We marched in a long procession from the base of our mountain, our green cloaks and tunics waving gently in the wind, banners of our grief, as we made our way slowly to the Pinnacle at Ishan.

It had been a full day since the horrible battle. After burying the fallen earthbenders where they lay, we had marched back to our mountain base, heavy hearted, with the body of our slain leader carried on a cot in the midst of us. Taking only enough time to change our clothes, we'd set out again, carrying Teikei's body to the burial ground we'd chosen for him.

Zuko and I stood at the head of the procession. The scent of last fall's decaying leaves, now thawing in spring's return, drifted around me on a lazy wind, heavy with moisture from the distant storm. I pulled my cloak tighter around my shoulders, suddenly cold. I stroked the green fabric lovingly. I'd worn it on the day I'd first met Teikei. I smiled when I remembered how strange he'd seemed to me then, with his laughing eyes and gentle voice. He'd never reminded me of a man of war. And he wasn't. Teikei was another example of a peaceful individual who'd had to sacrifice himself in the name of this war. This cursed war!

I could not stop the tears from welling in my eyes and streaming down my face. I did not wipe them away. There was no shame in sorrow today, and several of the soldiers wept openly. Thunder crackled overhead. It sounded as if the sky was tearing itself in two, writhing and breaking, sharing our pain.

I looked over at Zuko. His face was expressionless, his eyes set stonily ahead of us. His mouth was set in a firm line, his hands were held at his sides, his posture erect and militant. The posture of a solider, a warrior. But I saw, in the dark flickers of light behind his eyes, the face of a grieving son.

The glint of the short sword caught my eye from its place tied around Zuko's waist. It was the sword of leadership, the sword passed down from Teikei to Zuko as the leader lay dying. _The sword of leadership. _What did that mean? It meant Zuko was now leader of the rebel army, I knew that much, but...

What would Zuko do now?

The earth heaved, buckled, and finally shot into the sky. Twenty earthbending soldiers stood around its parameter, molding and shaping the giant pillar into a pyramid. Once finished, a hole was opened in the base of it, and with great ceremony Teikei's body was placed inside.

Then the hole was closed, forever sealing the leader of the rebel army inside. I closed my eyes and focused on the sorrow in my heart, letting it take over me like waves crashing against the ocean shore. It was Zuko's voice that broke my spell of sorrow and brought me back the earth.

"Here Teikei, leader of the Earthbending Rebels, will rest, looking over the lands that he sacrificed his life protecting."

Zuko's words were short but powerful. A cry rose up from the men, a war cry that twisted and cut the air as it echoed off the far away mountains and came back to us a thousand times. The voices built and crescendoed. I heard Zuko add his war cry, the powerful, passionate cry of a firebender.

I added my own voice, the haunting, moaning scream of a waterbender. Our voices mixed and mingled, blending into a cacophony of sorrow and pain, until we could not yell anymore, and the cry faded.

Silence surrounded our gathering. No birds chirped, no cicadas hummed, no human spoke. There was only the wind, twisting and curling around the mountains to converse with the trees. The ceremony was done now. Teikei had been buried with all the honor and respect deserved of a great leader. But now a question hung heavily in the air and on the faces of the men gathered around the burial site.

_What now?_

All faces turned to Zuko. Some looked expectant, as if expecting a challenge. Some looked with hope, gazing at Zuko as if he had the power to just call off the whole war. Most, however, looked at him with suspicion. The earthbender green of his tunic did not hide his golden eyes. His heritage was plain on his face.

But Zuko did not speak. He bent down and loosed the straps of his pack and began to set up his mat on the ground. The rest seemed to understand, and followed suit, unrolling their mats and making feeble fires to ward off the deepening darkness.

I set up my mat next to Zuko's and watched as he bent over the fire, poking and fussing at it, adding tinder and dried grass, as if he couldn't keep it going with just a flick of his wrist.

_Something's bothering him. _

I waited until twilight melted into darkness and the sounds of snoring were drifting around the little camp. Zuko was still up, staring into the fire intensely. I got up from my mat and crept toward him. He did not turn to face me, only continued to stare at the fire. I waited.

"This will never stop." Zuko's voice was low and heavy with a great burden. "It is pointless. I felt a jolt run through me at his words. Was he giving up? This wasn't Zuko. Zuko would never give up!

"How dare you give up on these men! You would have them lose their hope? You would have them abandon their people to be slaughtered? You wold give up on them?" I hissed in the darkness.

"I am not giving up!" Zuko said, turning to me with a dangerous fire burning in his eyes. The flames beside us lept into the sky, crackling and snapping with unnatural heat.

"Don't you see, Katara? We are fighting a pointless war! My father will not stop attacking these lands until every last town has been overrun. So what if they won a few battles? They will not win the war. In time, he will send greater forces. In time, they will all die."

I felt as if my breath had become stuck in my throat. I wanted to protest, to convince Zuko that there was still hope, but I knew he was right. The fire lord was ruthless, merciless. That much was as plain as the scar that marked his own son's face. I was a fool to have convinced myself that the small army could keep him at bay. Zuko was right. It was just a matter of time.

"So what do we do?" Hopelessness tinged my voice. "If what you say is true, there is no way to stop the coming slaughter."

"Yes, there is." Zuko's voice was so low I could barely hear it over the crackling of the fire. I leaned forward, catching his golden stare in my sapphire one.

"I must fight my father." He whispered.

A shiver of dread ran up my spine.

And I couldn't help but glance at the fiery scar that arced across the Prince's face.

Dawn was grey and cold and wet with a light drizzle that fell from weeping clouds. I felt Zuko stir beside me, felt the comforting warmth of his arms lift from their position wrapped around my waist. He moved gently and carefully, but I was already awake. I turned to face him and grabbed his wrist before he could pull too far away.

"I wish the best for you. My strength is your strength." I whispered the waterbender blessing, looking earnestly into his eyes. He nodded a wordless thank-you and stood, walking to the center of the camp. I followed, joined by the other earthbenders as they rose and converged.

There was an electricity in the air. They'd waited all night, and now they would finally see what their new leader was going to do. I stood in their midst, quietly wishing Zuko courage and strength.

He stood on a boulder, elevating himself in the crowd. With one sudden movement, he plunged his hand to his side and pulled Teikei's sword from the sash around his waist. He held it up so that it glinted in the dim light cast through the clouds.

"Teikei has given me this sword. I have been appointed your leader, and there is only one way I will lead." I noticed several of the older, bigger earthbenders bristle. Part of me wondered what Zuko was doing. He was winning no friends with the speech so far. It undoubtedly irked the older earthbenders to be addressed that way by the young prince.

"Listen to me. After you have heard me, you can choose for yourselves whether you will stay with me or leave. If you wish to leave, you may do so without shame or dishonor. If you stay, you may die." This at least perked their interest.

"I am a firebender, a son of the Fire Nation." Several earthbenders gasped. It was like a little dog announcing himself in a room full of angry cats. I pushed my uneasiness aside. Zuko knew what he was doing.

"This fact may lower me in your eyes, but I am not ashamed of it. My heart beats for my nation, and it bleeds for it's disgrace." Several jaws dropped.

"The Fire Nation was once one of great honor, but it has been lost in the greed of its Lords. One barbarity has been heaped on another, each disgrace more ugly than the last. Ozai has been the cause of the death of the airbenders. He has allowed the slaughter of his own people to gain more ground in his battles. It was he who ordered the attacks that have killed your wives, your children, your mothers and fathers. It was he who put this scar on my face." Zuko's voice rose as he pointed to the mark. The soldiers gasped and began to murmur among themselves.

"I always wondered how..."

"... did you hear that?"

"His own son!..."

"...wonder what he did..."

"Boy speaks like a leader..."

"...we'll see about that..."

"The Fire Lord will kill you all if he remains on the throne. Believe me when I say you will receive no mercy." Zuko's eyes narrowed and his voice dropped in warning. The murmuring hushed.

"I am going to fight my father. I am asking brave men to follow me. I do not hold out much hope for my own life, nor should you for your own. But I will not let Ozai take anything else from me." Here Zuko paused. His golden eyes flashed as they swept over the audience before coming to rest on my face. His voice was low when he spoke again.

"I will not let him take away that which I love." The silver flash of the short sword caught my attention and quelled the questions in my mind.

"Will you let Ozai take your home from you?" He shouted, raising the sword above his head. A murmur of anger rose from the crowd.

"Will you let him take your lands, your freedom, your life?" The murmur grew as Zuko shook the sword above his head.

"Will you let him slaughter your families?" Angry shouts rose from the crowd and I could hear the scraping of metal as swords were drawn from their scabbards.

"Will you join me?" Zuko shouted his challenge, raising both hands in the air and holding the sword between them.

A roar rose up from the crowd so loud that I wondered if the Fire Lord himself couldn't hear it from his throne. Swords sliced through the air above my head, raised to meet Zuko's challenge. I raised my own hand and added my yell to the chorus.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

**Three Months Later**

I climbed into bed next to Zuko, warming my freezing toes on his hot skin.

"Agh!" He jumped.

"What's wrong? I thought firebenders didn't get cold." I teased, wiggling closer to him under the blankets.

"You bring new meaning to the word 'cold'." Zuko grumbled.

"Awwww, did a little firebender train a little too hard today and get all cranky?" I cooed tauntingly to Zuko.

"You try fighting 40 new recruits at once and then you can complain about how crabby I am." He growled from beneath the blankets. I laughed. Zuko's determined leadership and stirring speeches, as well as his almost flawless battle tactics, had attracted a great number of new recruits from the surrounding villages. Our numbers had swollen to almost a thousand men. The truly incredible fact, however, was that many of them were firebenders.

A sharp rapping sound came at the door. I got out of bed and padded to the lock. Zuko pulled a pillow over his head a groaned. I opened the door to see a bright-eyed young recruit saluting me sharply.

"Miss Katara!" He straightened like a rod and put on his best 'soldier' face. I smiled warmly. He was so young. About Aang's age.

"Good evening, Shing. What can I help you with?" I opened the door a little wider, letting the boy inside. He smiled widely when he realized that I remembered his name.

"Miss Katara, Maishu is back from his patrol around the northern coast. He brings with him forty firebenders that were found fishing by the shore. I thought Commander Zuko might want to interrogate them." He peeked around my shoulder to where Zuko was still in bed with the pillow pulled tightly over his head.

He'd not gotten any sleep in a day and a night, and it looked like he wouldn't be getting any tonight, either. I frowned. He couldn't go on like this. He was crabby enough already without the lack of sleep.

"Shing, tell Maishu to take the prisoners to the hold. They can wait until morning."

"No." I turned. Zuko was sitting up and rubbing his forehead. "I'll be right down. Tell Miashu to assemble them. Hurry." Shing bowed quickly to his commander and left in a blur of motion. I closed the door behind him and walked back to bed.

"You can't keep doing this to yourself." I followed him to the wardrobe where he'd just hung up his tunic and armor. Zuko grunted in response and began to pull on his tunic. I sighed. I had learned long ago that it was impossible to argue with the young prince. He was as stubborn as a mullox and twice as ornery.

He flicked his wrist and flame sputtered from the oil lamp above the wardrobe. The flickering light mingled with the moonlight that shafted in through the open window. I smiled, remembering how happy I'd been the day we'd moved from our tiny, cell-like room into a more comfortable bedroom. One with a window and even a running bath! I'd used it religiously each night until Zuko began to complain of not being able to come into the room until I was done.

Of course, that whole problem could have been solved had we just taken rooms apart from each other, but neither of us had expressed a wish to do so, and none of the soldiers had questioned us about it.

If the soldiers suspected anything they did not show it. I hoped that they did not think there was anything going on behind the closed door of our room, because there wasn't. Ever since that first day I'd found myself wrapped in his arms as he saved me from the cold sickness, we'd found solace and comfort in each others embrace each night. Somehow, despite the atrocities of the day, despite the bloody, cruel realities of war, we'd found the ability to face them, wrapped in each other's arms.

I pulled the heavy leather breastplate down from the hook in the wardrobe. Armor had been a newly acquired treat, as several of our recruits were leatherworkers. They would take the skins from the animals the hunters had tracked and butchered for the cook and would work them into valuable armor. They were not nearly as advanced as the gleaming metal armor of the firenation, but they were certainly a step up from the bare tunics we used to wear.

I tied the straps of the breastplate at his shoulders, feeling the muscles beneath his tunic flex and harden as he adjusted to the added weight. I pulled the straps firmly, tightening the armor, and reached around his middle to tie the straps in front. I let my hands drop down, sweeping over Zuko's stomach before I pulled away. I felt him shiver a little and smiled mischievously.

"Out." I whispered in his ear. "I need to get dressed now."

"No, stay here and get some rest. I'll be fine." Zuko said, turning to face me.

"You are always so ready to take the fate of the world on your shoulders. You're more like Aang than you realize." I laughed as I straightened his armor.

"Hmph. I'm not a child." He growled at me as he swaggered from the room. I gave him an appreciating glance as he walked away.

_No, you're certainly not. _I shook the thoughts from my head. They'd been becoming more and more frequently in the past few months, and it was getting to the point where I was having a hard time ignoring them anymore. Some day, I knew, I'd have to confront them. But I didn't want to. I didn't want to admit that...

That...

I busied myself in front of the small mirror. I arranged my hair in the traditional Water Tribe braid and pulled a green tunic over my pajama shift. I blew out the lamp and headed for the door, hoping that this would be over quickly so I could get back to sleep and forget the troubling thoughts that were so constantly running through my mind.

Zuko was standing in the middle of the war room as forty firebenders clustered around him. I slipped inside the door and walked quietly to my place beside him. A few of the firebenders glanced at me. Some were angry, some were confused, but most were scared. Many were young; much younger than the rest. _The Fire Lord's running out of soldiers. He's going to start sending babies into the war now. _I thought bitterly as I studied the recruits.

Zuko was silently watching them. I hid a smile as I remembered the first day I'd walked into the war room. I'd been so scared. I'd tried to hide it, just as these soldiers were doing now. But, unlike Teikei, Zuko had no light, cheerful laughter or smiling eyes to dispel the fear the prisoners must have been feeling at that moment. If anything, he looked far more intimidating than he really was. The dark scar burned over his face and his golden eyes stared fiercely as flame above the grim set of his mouth. Two of the soldiers were trembling.

"How long have you been at war?" Zuko finally addressed them. "How many sons have died by your side as you fought a battle for one man's greed?" A few of the soldiers looked at Zuko with puzzled expressions.

"How many acts of dishonor have you shamed yourselves in committing for Ozai's bloodlust? How many years have been absent from your home, your children, your wives? You may say to yourselves that you would never betray the Fire Nation. I say to you right now that neither would I. I am a son of the Fire Nation as much as you are. Not only a son, but a prince." A few eyes widened and a couple soldiers mouthed the word 'Zuko.'

"My father would destroy you all if it meant that he would receive more power or more land. You know this. You, soldier! How long have you been at war?" Zuko pointed to one of the older soldiers. He had a wizened, grizzled face.

"Forty-five years." He said softly. There didn't seem to be any fight left in the old man. His slumped posture proclaimed that if Zuko ordered his execution tonight, the old man would welcome it with open arms. "I have not seen the wife of my youth in forty-five years. I do not even know if she still lives." The old man slumped further. A look of compassion passed quickly over Zuko's face.

"You, how many years have you been fighting?" Zuko now pointed to a small boy who had hidden himself from the Prince's burning gaze behind the shoulders of another soldier.

"S...sih..sih..six months, sir." He stammered. Zuko walked up to the recruit and looked him in the eye.

"Is this what you want? Forty-five years of war, like this soldier here?" Zuko gestured to the old man. The ancient eyes of the man stared tiredly at the child, their wrinkled, sunken rims betraying a great sorrow, and a horrible future.

"My father will do this to you. To all of you! He will take your life and he will throw it away in his lust for power. You can spend the rest of your life fighting an endless, bloody war..." Zuko paused as his eyes swept the small troop.

"...or you can join me and finally end the brutal rule of my father." A gasp and a murmur of surprise went up from the troop.

"I will never betray the Fire Nation! You are a traitor and a fool!" A brave young soldier spoke.

"I do not defy the Fire Nation. I defy the traitor that rules from its throne." Zuko's face softened and his voice lost its hard edge. "Enough people have died for his bloodlust. There can, and there must, be balance among the nations.

"I will give you the night to sleep on it, and I will come for your answer in the morning." Zuko waved his hand and the earthbender guards took the prisoners away.

"Wait. I don't need a night. Heaven knows that may be all I have left on this earth." The old man Zuko had first addressed spoke up and separated himself from the rest of the soldiers. He pushed away the guards that tried to restrain him and hobbled over to Zuko.

"I'd like to speak with you." He said, settling himself on the floor. If Zuko was annoyed by the man's audacity he did not show it. Instead, he bowed and offered the man a cushion.

"What would you like to speak of, sir?" Zuko asked respectfully. The man raised his eyebrows and nodded.

"A far cry from the spoiled brat that used to run around poking swords at everyone." The corner's of the old man's mouth twitched in a smile. Zuko's cheeks warmed with a red tinge and I caught the quick look he gave me from the corner of his eye.

"Do I know you, sir?" He brow furrowed.

"My name is Quint. I was the best friend of your Uncle Iroh. We were both generals in the army, but I fell from grace, it seems, and have spent my days languishing at sea. It's never set well with my stomach. Tell the truth, I'm glad to be on land again." The man rubbed his belly.

"Uncle Iroh..." Zuko murmured. His eyes took on a faraway, homesick look. "Do you know where he is? If he's well?"

"No, haven't spoke to him in years. Not since you were a baby, anway. Ha! I still remember that time you mooned the entire court when your father was throwing that hoopla for the Fire Nation dignitaries. Ha ha! You got quite a spanking for that one." The old man slapped his knee and laughed while Zuko squirmed uncomfortably. A laugh escaped my lips, but I covered my mouth when Zuko shot me a death glare.

"Yes, you were quite the little rebel back then. That much hasn't changed." Quint added. "But there is something different about you, my Prince." His voice sobered and he looked Zuko in the eyes. "You've become a man, that much is obvious. And, from the look of it, I think your uncle would be quite proud." I saw a smile grace Zuko's lips. It was so beautiful. Since he'd taken on the decision to fight his father, Zuko had remained as serious as stone. I'd almost forgotten how handsome he was when he smiled.

"Yes, you've gotten much more respectful, as well." The man glanced at me and grinned. "I suppose this young lady's got something to do with it, eh? She give you a few sound spankings?" He winked at Zuko. A crimson blush lit his cheeks and his mouth dropped in mortification. The old man laughed again. I blushed at the images that were filling my head and hoped that no one would notice.

"Well, I think that's enough reminiscing for tonight. I've come to tell you that you're father's enlarging his army. And Zula, too. He's made her admiral and given her charge over more ships than you can count. The army's ballooned to over thirty thousand men, Prince Zuko." Quint's voice hushed to a murmur.

Suddenly, the world seemed to be crashing in on me. Thirty thousand men? It was an impossible number.

"Surely there's been a mistake!" I said. "Last we heard, there were only ten thousand."

Quint shook his shaggy head. "The Fire Lord has tripled his efforts. He wants to win all the lands before Zula's eighteenth birthday, which is just before the comet arrives."

_The comet! _A tidal wave of memories washed through my mind.

"The comet! Aang was told by Avatar Roku that he had to defeat the Fire Lord before the comet came!" I said. How could I have forgotten?

"Why?" Zuko looked at me with confusion.

"Because the comet will make the firenation unstoppable. You told me once that you rise with the sun. Well, imagine two suns in the sky! We will be defeated before we even have a chance to fight!"

"But Zula's birthday is only two months away! There is no way we can raise and train an army to fight thirty thousand firebenders in that amount of time." Zuko stood, clenching his fists. Sudden realization dawned on me.

"No... we can't do it Zuko, not alone." I said softly. "We need Aang."

"Aang?" Quint looked at me questioningly.

"The Avatar." I explained.

"You know him personally?" Quint raised a shaggy eyebrow at me. I nodded.

"My brother and I traveled with him for a while."

"How will we find him? We don't even know where he is!" Zuko was pacing now, the fiery energy made the room hot and I fanned myself with the edge of my tunic.

"Well, Zuko, if I remember correctly, you were pretty good at tracking him down once." I said with a wry smile. "Why not do that again? I'm sure we can find him before the summer's end."

"We?"

"I'm coming with you, of course! He's traveling with _my _brother!"

"You'll just slow me down."

"Well excuse me, Mr. Perfect Prince, but I forgot how feeble I was. So feeble that I beat you in our last sparring match."

"You didn't beat me, you tricked me."

"Hmm, so it seems I'm also more clever than you."

"Ha!"

"Ha!" I stuck my tongue out at him. It was childish, but it felt good. Zuko turned his face as a smile tugged at his lips.

"So it's settled then." I said, crossing my arms.

"What's settled?"

"We're starting out tomorrow afternoon to look for the Aang, and I'm coming with you."

"No, we're setting out tomorrow _morning _and you can carry my things." He said as he strode from the room.

Now alone, the old man burst out laughing. "Ah, yes, he's changed quite a bit, and yet none at all." He looked at me and shook his head. "You've caught quite a man, young miss." I blushed and was about to deny it, but he raised his hand to stop me. "He's got a stubborn streak in him, that's for sure, but I've honestly never seen a man with a stronger heart. He will never let his people down, I can tell you that right now."

My chest swelled with pride for Zuko. I could see it in him, too. The fiery passion that lit his eyes and made living with him a daily verbal battle was the same passion that would keep him from giving up in the tough days ahead. But then Quint leaned forward, his voice dropping into low, conspiratorial tones.

"And Katara, I can tell you this as well, I have never seen the prince so in love before."

"Wake up. Katara. Come on. Dawn is breaking!" I found myself staring at a blurry image of Zuko's face.

"Mmmm... fife moor minush." I yawned as I rolled over. Why did firebenders have to rise with the sun? Why couldn't they sleep through sunrise like normal people?

"Now, Katara!" Cold air hit me like a bucket of ice water as the blankets were ripped from my body.

"Aie!" I shrieked, wrapping my arms around my knees. Zuko stared at me defiantly. Suddenly, Quint's spanking suggestion didn't sound so bad.

"I talked to some of the men last night. They said that a 'great shaggy flying monster' was seen flying above Kata just two days ago. If that's true, he's probably headed for the shoreline."

"How far away is Kata?" I asked as I stretched. I stood before the open window and let the sun fall on my body and chase away the cool of night.

"A... a walk of... of about two days." Zuko said from the doorway, where he watched me from the corner of his eye. I nodded. A two day walk. And at the pace Zuko walked... I moaned as I stretched. My legs would get a workout. But it would be good for me. I put my arms behind my head and pushed my chest out, feeling the relief of my spine cricking back into place after the meager night's sleep.

"Are you all ready?" I asked Zuko as I went to get dressed. I'd packed my bags the night before, so all I would have to do was dress and then leave. I stopped in my tracks when I got no response from Zuko. I'd been expecting some annoyed quip about me taking too long when he had been ready for hours, but none came.

"Zuko? Are you okay?" He was staring at me with wide eyes. He quickly looked away.

"I'm fine. I'm just... packing." He said huskily as he languidly rummaged through the pack. I shook my head at him. He could be so unfathomable sometimes.

I pulled my tunic on and hefted the heavy pack to my shoulders. The straps bit into my shoulder but I bit my lip and didn't complain. Zuko would see that I could keep up with him. I was just as strong as he was!

The air was crisp and clear, with just a tinge of early summer's heat. I breathed in deeply and started down the trail. _I'll show him. I'll get there before him and be waiting at the city gates!_

"Hey trail guide. Kata's this way." I snapped my head around to see Zuko leaning against a tree marking a trail going in the opposite direction. He smirked at me and sauntered down the trail. I fumed inwardly. Oooh, this was going to be a long walk.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

We walked for miles over dusty roads bordered by quaint little villages, through the thick vegetation of leafy Earth Kingdom forests, over the rocky ridges of mountain peaks, and through grassy meadows peppered with golden flowers. The heady scent of early summer tinged the air, both warming me with its welcome fragrance and chilling my insides with the warning of the comet's closeness.

Much of the trip was spent in silence, but every once in a while one of us would break the hush and speak of some little thing from our pasts, or share a hope or idea for the future. I had to admit, it was the most pleasant thing I'd done since the war had begun and had ripped away my quiet serenity.

We'd walked almost the entire day. The sun was just beginning to hover tiredly over the horizon when I heard a familiar crashing sound.

"The sea!" I cried, dropping my pack and sprinting to the distant booming. I leapt over rocks and roots, gathering my skirt into my hands as I broke through the forest and into the wide expanse of the shoreline.

"Aie!" I cried, stretching my arms out wide and running into the midst of the breaking waves. I splashed into the mist of the sea and began to waterbend the waves, playing with them like old friends. I raised my hands over my head and brought three long snakes of water to twist and turn around my body as I danced. I relished their caress against my skin, feeling as if I were a dry, dusty desert getting its first rain in years.

I laughed and danced in the water until I was breathless. Finally, I stopped and let the water fall back into the sea around me. I suddenly remembered Zuko. Turning to the shoreline, I saw him standing on the beach, his head cocked to one side, watching me. His face was calm, his arms crossed casually in front of him. But there was something in the way he looked at me, something in the quick way he was breathing, that told me he wasn't just amused by the show.

Suddenly, to my great surprise, he stepped into the water. I didn't know why, but for some reason I'd always just assumed firebenders had a fear of water. He walked to up to me, his legs moving slowly through the water that was now up to his mid-thigh, and smirked.

"There is no time to play, Katara, we're hunting the Avatar." He crossed his arms and looked imperiously down at me, but I could see the teasing behind his eyes. I laughed.

"You know, if someone had told me a year ago that I would be hunting the Avatar with the Prince of the Fire Nation, I'd have said they were crazy." I continued to laugh until a sudden thought struck me.

_No one told you that, but someone _did _tell you that you would fall in love with a powerful bender. _The smile fell from my face and a little shiver ran up my body.

"Life's twists of irony are as many as a seven tailed cat, as my Uncle would say." Zuko grinned as he stared toward the setting sun. "That would be his way of saying that things don't always turn out as you planned." Zuko let a wry smile twist his lips. "I suppose I would have been just as shocked if I'd known I would be the leader of a rebel army."

"Hmm. A far cry from the rabid prince that thought the downfall of the Avatar would bring him everything he wanted." I teased. But Zuko didn't laugh. He stared out to sea, a look of pain clouding his brilliant golden eyes

"For so many years I thought that if I could just find the avatar, then maybe..." Zuko let his voice drop away, unfinished, on the wind.

"What?" I knew the answer, but I drew him out. He had wounds inside of him. Wounds that I could not heal with water... but maybe I could heal them some other way...

Zuko pressed his lips tightly together, a familiar sign that he was struggling against himself. The scarred, mistrusting Zuko warring with the one that wanted to tell me everything. That needed to tell me everything. I placed my hand on his shoulder, and the touch opened his mouth.

"I wanted him to look at me the way he looked at Zula, the way he's always looked at Zula."

"Zula?"

"My sister. The _prodigy." _

"What do you mean?"

"She was everything a future Fire Lord should be. Merciless, unfeeling, brutal, skillful, without weakness. Perfect." Zuko's look hardened as he stared into the ocean. Fire blazed in his eyes, and I felt his skin warm with a stinging, uncomfortable heat. But just as soon as it came, it went out.

"I convinced myself that if I could just bring him the avatar, I could prove my strength. I could prove that I was worthy... of his..." Zuko didn't say 'love'. His pride forbid it, but his eyes said it for him, and my heart broke.

"Your father is a fool to base his love on strength and power! He knows nothing of the emotion. Did the massacre of the women and children look like the work of a loving father to you?" Tears burned at the edges of my eyelids. I reached up to caress Zuko's face with my palm. My fingertips slid gently over the scar, the toughened, wounded skin a testament to Zuko's heart. If only I could heal him. But scars and hearts were out of my knowledge to heal.

"It's okay, Katara." He brought his hands up to my face, his warm fingertips tracing shivers of fire in my skin. "There is someone far more deserving of my love." A shiver wracked my body and I felt him pull me close to him, felt his heat warm my body with a shower of sparks. He leaned forward and rested his cheek on my forehead.

His breath caressed my ear and warmed my hair as I leaned into his touch. My heart sped as his hands moved from my face to my neck, down over my shoulders and onto my back. My skin was alive with the pulses of a thousand fireflies. I closed my eyes and pulled myself into him, my face pressed tightly against the masculine lines of his chest, listening to our hearts race as one.

I opened my eyes to gaze at the spectacular sunset. The sun was throwing its last flames into the sky, now half-buried in the ocean. I turned my eyes to other horizon and gasped at what I saw.

The moon had risen! Of course, I'd seen the moon share the sky with the sun before, but I'd never really paid attention to it. Now, with my arms wrapped around the Fire Prince, with my heart beating with emotions I had never known I possessed, the sight of the sun and moon both dancing in the heavens at the same time took my breath away.

Slowly, I felt Zuko's hands rise from my waist. His hands twisted up my shoulders, his fingertips gently brushed my neck. I closed my eyes. A moan escaped my lips as electricity hummed through me. Zuko must have felt it too, for his whole body tensed. He did not stop his journey, though, bringing his hands beneath my chin and lifting my face so that my eyes met his.

Our faces were inches apart. The ocean crashed around us, the sun illuminated his golden eyes. My body was on fire. My heart was pounding.

He brought his face closer.

I felt his breath on my cheek.

My body ached with unknown hunger.

I closed my eyes, and closed the distance.

I felt his lips, hot and soft, cover mine. An explosion of electricity raced from my lips to my feet. At first I was sure I'd been struck by lightening, but if I had I would be dead, and the frantic beating of my heart told me that I was very much alive.

My hands tightened around his shoulders as I hung on for my life. He lifted his mouth and kissed my upper lip as he pulled me tighter into his embrace. Hunger awakened like a flame inside of me. I kissed him back. His lips were so warm. The warmth spread inside of me, trickling through my veins like a spring. The warmth grew to a roaring heat, until I was so hot that I was sure I must be on fire. But I wasn't in pain. The fire filled me, but didn't consume me. If anything, I felt peaceful. I felt... balanced.

Finally, our lungs screaming for air, we broke the kiss. I lowered my face to rest on his chest as I panted and tried to calm my wildly beating heart. Zuko, too, was breathing rapidly. I could feel his pulse beat in his wrists as they rested on my neck, warm, liquid fire flowing in his veins.

When we'd caught our breath, I looked up at him. No words came to my mouth... but then... no words were really needed. Smiling with a soft, peaceful smile I'd never seen on Zuko before, he took my hand and led me out of the water.

He helped me spread out the mats and light the fire. The moon was now high in the sky, providing a pale, shimmering light to guide us to our mats after we'd eaten our supper. Zuko lay down and pulled me beside him, wrapping his strong arms around my waist. I closed my eyes and let the crashing of the waves lull me to sleep. Distantly, a lullaby came to my mind.

Sun and moon dancing together.

Fire and water mixing.

When the elements are balanced,

None are consumed.

**And there it is! The moment you've all been waiting for! I do hope it lived up to your expectations! hopefull Anyway, that's how I wish _my _first kiss was, lol. Thank you all, dear readers, for your truly wonderful reviews. If I could compare them to something, it would have to be something grand like shoe shopping when all the shoes are free, or listening to a CD where all the tracks are your favorite. Or swimming in a pool filled with pudding. Thank you, all!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Lol, no, my beloved readers, that was not the end. Yes, Aang and Sokka are coming soon. One more chapter and you shall have your desire! Good things come to those who patiently wait, as you certainly have done. Thank you for reading, and for your incredible encouragement.**

**Chapter 24**

The sun warmed my face with a gentle caress, while the waves boomed in morning's greeting. I stretched, my hands arching over the blankets and into the sun-soaked sand as I loosed the cricks and kinks that had accumulated in my muscles overnight. Slowly, I blinked open my eyes, squinting in the morning light.

"You slept past sunrise." Zuko said, but his voice was gentle and low, without the reproof that the statement suggested.

"Why didn't you wake me?" I yawned.

"I didn't want to." I felt a blush settle on my face. Did that mean he'd been watching me as I slept? I hoped I hadn't said anything embarrassing in my sleep. I turned to face him.

He was lying on his side, propped up on his elbows. Fiery golden eyes observed me with something like amusement and appreciation, with that arrogant little smirk of his on his face, taunting me. Oh, I'd like to just slap it off...

...or kiss it away.

Visions of last night's passionate kiss filled my mind and I turned my head away quickly to hide the blush that had swept into my cheeks. I stood and busied myself with packing up camp. After almost a year of campaigns and battles and marches, I'd gotten fast at packing, and had my stuff put away before Zuko had finished dividing up our breakfast rations.

"Where are we headed now?" I asked through a mouthful of bread.

"We should arrive in Kata by noon, as long as there are no delays." Zuko said.

"Delays? What kind of delays? We're far from Fire Nation trouble spots."

"I'm not worried about the Fire Nation. I'm worried about you wanting to stop and pick flowers or play in puddles."

"Oh really?" I raised one eyebrow. Quickly, before he could realize what I was doing, I flicked my wrist and brought a whirling ball of water up from the sea and dropped it on Zuko's shoulders. "You mean like that?"

He scowled as the water disappeared from his clothes in a puff of steam. "Yes, like that."

"Hmph. Listen, _Prince Zuko, _you may be able to order around whomever you please in the Fire Lands, but while we're out here I'll do whatever I please whether you like it or not." I pulled the pack onto my back and raised my chin defiantly.

"You would dare defy the Prince of the Fire Nation?" Zuko moved closer to me, staring at me with a sultry golden stare.

"Yes." I straightened as he came closer, refusing to back down. A thrill pulsed through me as my fingertips began to tingle. Despite our threatening words, our verbal battle was just for fun. There was a kind of tension, yes, but not strife.

"You're very bold." He was less than an inch away, and I could feel his body heat warm the air around us.

"Yes, I don't suppose I'm anything like those refined, aristocratic palace women you must have consorted with back at the palace, hm?" I batted my eyelashes at him and pulled a demure, silly smile.

"No, you're nothing like them." Zuko replied, leaning in. I closed my eyes.

"_I said no delays_." He whispered in my ear. I blinked my eyes open and turned quickly, a blush forming over my cheeks. I was _so_ going to get him back for that one.

"Well, here's Kata." Zuko sounded disappointed. To tell the truth, I was a bit let down, myself. We'd traveled all day to find Kata, and now that we stood on a hill overlooking the tiny village, I began to wish that we hadn't found it yet. It was a struggling little sea wharf full of dilapidated, tumbling-down buildings and the stink of fish. From where I stood, I could hear the shouts of fishmongers and the could almost taste the dust and spoiled fish in my mouth.

Zuko pulled the hood of his cloak over his head and kept his face bent to the ground as we began to walk into town. It was a risky disguise at best, one brisk wind and the hood could be off, revealing his unmistakable scar, and therefore his identity. But it was the best we could do.

We searched the tiny fish village all day, questioning fisherman's wives and the haggard old seafarers that tended to their boats at the docks. We scoured the markets for information, but everywhere we went people just gave us blank stares or raised eyebrows when we asked if anyone had seen a giant, flying shaggy monster.

Zuko and I were reaching the end of our patience, and I was beginning to fear for our disguise when Zuko's palms began smoking after an old woman had been babbling for an eternity about her broccoli garden instead of answering our question. But, finally, we stumbled upon a bit of good fortune.

"Eh, Jimm thar say he saws ah kina flyin thin' th'other day." A fisherman's wife said, pointing to a ramshackle old fishing boat docked at the port. "Doncha listun to a thin' tha ol' coot says, though. Pur man's crazy as tha come, darlin'." She waddled back into her hut and closed the door.

"It's better than nothing." I shrugged as I followed Zuko to the port. I couldn't hid the sinking feeling that maybe we'd come all this way only to find that our hopes were based on nothing more than the wild imaginings of a crazy old man.

"Sir?" I asked when we got to the boat. A hunched figure in a threadbare, waterlogged fishing coat looked up at me through one bulging eye, while the other squinted suspiciously at Zuko. The effect was quite unsettling.

"Wadda ya want?" He wheezed through a mustache that hung to his belly.

"Sir, is it true that you saw a flying monster?" I took a step back as the smell of fish on the man's breath threatened to overpower me.

"An' what's uh liddle girlie like you lookin' fer a monster fer?" He dropped his net and squinted at me. I faltered under his gaze. _Come on Katara! Think of something!_

"Well, sir, I uh... I'm Katara the Great Monster Slayer, and um... this is my faithful servant... Kazoo." I saw Zuko stiffen out of the corner of my eye. I suppressed a grin. We were now even for this morning.

"Never heard 'uh ya." He went back to repairing his net.

"Well, that's because I haven't slain a monster yet." I puffed out my chest and tried to look brave and heroic.

"No'buddy believes me. But I saws it! I saws it with mah own EYE!" He jumped to his feet and looked wildly around him, as if the shaggy monster was going to jump out of the sea at any moment and eat him alive.

"Well, I believe you, sir. Now, if you could just tell me where he was headed..."

"Hey, hows yer gonna slays 'im if yous aint got any weapons?" He looked me up and down. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I was drawing a blank. _Good job, Katara. Now he won't believe us and we'll never find Aang and Sokka!_

"We left them back at our camp." Zuko said, filling in my words for me.

"A servant don't speak 'less his mistress tells 'im to!" The old man rebuked, shaking his finger in Zuko's face. I froze. This was it. We were done for. Zuko would blow up now and wreak our disguise and we'd never know where Aang was. I closed my eyes and waited.

To my surprise, I heard Zuko take a deep breath and growl "Yes, sir."

Zuko's apology seemed to mollify the old man, who turned to me and continued. "Well, I wuz ketchin' fish up yonder north a ways. Seen it 'fore, jest din' realize what it wuz a' firs. Thought it wuz a bird, I did. A big 'un! But the las' time, that was diff'runt." He dropped his voice and squinted at me, leaning in closer, as if merely mentioning his sight of the creature could conjure the beast into appearance.

"It was flyin' close to the groun' this time. 'S got six legs like tree trunks, an' teeth that could crush a man to pieces." His eyes widened and glazed over.

"North, you said? How far north?"

"By foot? A day's walk. Near the village of the strange ol' woman."

"Well, thank you sir. You've been a great help." I backed away from the man, who began to carry on about the creature's fearful appearance to no one in particular.

Once outside the town, I spoke. "Do you think we should believe him?"

"It's the best lead we have right now." Zuko said, lost in thought.

"It did sound like Appa." I smiled, remembering the warm fur of the bison, and how I'd snuggle into it when the wind blew cold. I felt a lurch in my heart. It would be good to see them again. Somehow, the thought made my pack lighter and my step higher as started on the day's journey North.

Any energy I'd gotten from remembering my former traveling companions left me within a short while. The day's travel was over rocky, mountainous terrain, and by the time the sun was slipping from the sky I was more than ready to set up camp and lose myself in sleep. I rolled out my mat and began taking out food to cook for supper.

I turned around to place a pot of water over the fire Zuko built, but found that there was no fire. Instead, Zuko was leaning against a tree and staring down at me with an indifferent expression.

"Zuko, come on, we need a fire." I complained as I sat on the ground, already beginning to feel the prickle of the night's chill.

"Oh, thank you, _Mistress Katara, _I was waiting for your permission." He said in a high-pitched, subservient voice. I rolled my eyes and laughed.

"Are you still upset about that? I couldn't think of anything better at the time, okay?"

"You couldn't think of a better name than Kazoo?" He scowled, but I could see the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Oh, I suppose you could have done better?" I crossed my arms and looked down my nose at him, hiding a smile of my own.

"Yes."

"Hm! You dare speak to your mistress with such disrespect?" I folded my arms and adopted the heroic stance of 'Katara the Monster Slayer'.

"Yes."

"What a bold, rebellious servant you are! You'll have to pay for your back-talk." I said. Zuko dropped to his hands and knees and crawled slowly up to where I was sitting. His golden eyes stared into mine.

"What does she have in mind." He whispered, his voice low and sultry. I felt my breath catch in my throat. There was something I wanted from him more than anything else in the world right now, but of course, I wouldn't say it.

But he read my eyes. Leaning forward on his knees, he placed his mouth on mine and gave me a long, passionate kiss. I moaned against his mouth as I felt my body overcome with warmth again. I never wanted the kiss to end.

I remembered listening to the girls in my village describe what kissing felt like. They had told me how some cute boy had caught their eye and how they'd found some secret place to share that first kiss. They had told it in a flurry of giggles and had made the other girls sigh in wonder and hope.

But this, what I was sharing with Zuko, was far different from what I'd heard in the giggling whispers of the other girls. This foreign heat that covered my mouth was worlds away, quite literally, from my home in the Ice Lands. It wasn't lust or superficial teenage excitement that held us together as we shared that intimate kiss beneath the stars. It was something different, something deeper.

I loved him.

I'd known it for a long time but, like a shy bird that hid beneath the leaves of bushes, I'd been to afraid to acknowledge the truth. But now, with Zuko's strong arms wrapped around me, and his mouth pressed gently against mine, there was no denying what I felt, what I knew.

I loved him.

But what would Gran-Gran say? Strangely, no voice accused me, as I'd gotten so used to. Well, even if Gran-Gran didn't rebuke me, Sokka surely would. My eyes widened when I thought of what my younger brother would say... or do... if he caught the two of us locked together like this.

"What's wrong?" Zuko asked. He must have noticed my discomfort. His voice was questioning and slightly hurt. I'd forgotten how easily the male ego was bruised. He probably thought I wasn't enjoying the kiss.

"Nothing. It's just that... when we find Sokka and Aang..." How could I say it? I looked up at him, bright eyes burning in the starlight. I paused.

"We keep this secret." He whispered in my ear, finishing my sentence. I nodded.

"You're not angry?"

"The nations have been warring for a hundred years, Katara. The side effects of that war will not disappear simply because we've declared love for each other." Zuko said softly, wrapping his arms around me in the darkness. I could tell he was drawing strength from me as much as I was drawing it from him.

"They'll understand... in time." I whispered. "They must."

We walked the next day, all day. I was tired of walking. I was tired of bugs. I was tired to briars that stuck to my skirt and mud that stuck to my shoes. I was tired of the pack digging into my shoulders. I was tired of trees. I was tired of putting one foot in front of the other in front of the other in front of the other...

"Look! A town." Zuko pointed to a little white spattering of houses beneath a tall, tall mountain.

"Finally." I grumbled, not bothering to give the town much of a glance. "We need water. We're almost out. I'll find a well while you question the townspeople."

At the edge of the city we split up. Although I'd been too tired and sore to study the town before, I now looked at it with renewed interest as I searched for a well. There was something about it that seemed strangely, distantly familiar.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where the well is?" I tapped an old woman on the shoulder. She had a large number of children circling her legs, tugging on her skirt and calling her 'granma.'

"Yes, dearie, at the center of the town, right near the house of Aunt- Hey! Kalie, put that down!" The woman reprimanded a little girl that was poking the fruit of a nearby fruit merchant. "And you, Dan sing, get back here!"

I bowed and thanked her, not waiting for the rest of the directions. I could find my way to the center of the town. I probably wouldn't know who she was talking about anyway.

Sure enough, a small well lay in the middle of the town. I uncorked my water skin and let down a bucket to bring water up. I would have water-bended, but I didn't want to bring attention to myself.

My efforts were completely useless.

"What are you doing here?" A high-pitched voice shrieked. I heard a crashing sound and whirled to see a young lady standing in the midst of shattered pottery.

"E-e-excuse me?" I said, still gathering myself after her scream of doom. Her face was distraught and angry, her fists clenched at her sides. I wondered what in the world I'd done. "I think you must have me confused with someone else... you see, I'm just a visitor..."

"I know who you are!" The girl said. "You're Katara of the water tribe."

It was now my turn to look surprised.

"Do I know you?"


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26 **

"He was just getting over you, you know! You're a heartless, cruel, mean, dumb, girl!" She spat at me. "How could you do that to him? Just leave him like that?"

"Who? What are you talking about?" I pushed myself against the well and looked around for Zuko. Whoever this crazy girl was, I was beginning to doubt my ability to defend myself from her.

"Who do you think was there to dry his tears when he cried for you each night? Who do you think had to listen to all the stories about how _wonderful _you were and how it was all his fault that he left you alone with Zuko." She said through clenched teeth.

"Just calm down and tell me-" But she cut me off, wild, uncontrolled black hair bobbing behind her as she shook her fists.

"And now you're back! Out of the blue, just like that!" The girl snapped her fingers. She opened her mouth to say more, but suddenly a huge explosion rocked one side of the town. The girl dropped her fists and I whirled around to see a pillar of smoke rise into the sky.

"Zuko!" I yelled, dropping the waterskin and running to the place where the smoke came from. Unfortunately for me, most of the other townspeople were also running in that direction. The crowds pressed in on me at every side, and soon running became impossible. My steps slowed to an agonizing crawl as I pushed my way through the many bodies. Desperation was beginning to claw at the edges of my mind.

_Zuko wouldn't firebend unless he absolutely had to._ _What's going on? _

Finally, I burst from the crowd into a wide, open space on the city street. Relief washed over me as I saw Zuko. He was in a fighting stance, palms raised and glowing with fire, but unharmed. I was about to rush over him when another voice stopped me cold in my tracks.

"Where is my sister? What did you do with her, you monster?"

_Sokka. _

I turned slowly. The world had suddenly become a blur. There, standing at the opposite edge of the clearing, boomerang in hand, stood my brother.

How he'd grown! He bore himself with the stance of a warrior now, his shoulders had broadened with muscles, and his face had lost some of its youthful roundness. Yes, he looked every inch a warrior now. I wanted to cry, I was so proud of him.

"I should never have left you alone with her! You'll pay for what you did!" Another familiar voice spoke. Aang stood beside Sokka now. He'd grown, too, though he'd kept his wiry frame. His eyes were cold and angry, his grip on his glider firm as he stared at Zuko with unwavering fury.

"Yes, you'll pay one hundred times over!" Sokka yelled as he rushed Zuko, boomerang raised.

_Great, I just find them, and now they're all going to kill each other._

I rushed out from the crowd and stood in front of Zuko. "Sokka! Stop!" I raised my hands and hoped I had not changed so much that he wouldn't recognize me.

It took a few seconds for Sokka to realize what was happening. He stumbled forward a few steps, anger written all over his face.

"Miss, please step back I-" And then Sokka's eyes widened. The boomerang fell from his limp hand as he stared at me.

"Katara... you're... you're alive?" He shook his head as if he couldn't believe it.

"Katara's back!" Aang's joyful whoop filled the open circle as he rushed forward and gathered me into a hug. I laughed and hugged him back, joyful tears running down my face and staining my clothing.

"But... we searched... every day." Sokka was still sanding there dumbly. He seemed afraid to make a move, as if I might disappear if he touched me, like a mirage in the desert.

"It's okay, Sokka." I said, opening my arms wide. It was all the invitation he needed. The young warrior ran into my embrace and buried his face in my hair, sobbing.

"We thought you were dead. We searched every day for a month." Sokka said, hugging me so tightly I had trouble breathing.

"Where were you? Why did you leave us?" Aang looked up at me in confusion. Sadness tugged at my heart.

"It's a long story." Zuko spoke now, his voice was low and annoyed.

"You!" Sokka whirled on him. Before Zuko could react, Sokka leapt at the Prince, knocking his feet out from under him and pinning him to the ground. "You kidnaped her, didn't you?"

Zuko's wrists glowed red and I knew he'd reached his boiling point, in a very literal sense. Sokka was on dangerous ground.

"Listen, everyone just calm down." I said, raising my hands as if I could bend the tension away like I bended water. I gave Zuko a pleading look, and he grit his teeth and grudgingly submitted to being pinned for a little while longer.

"Please, Sokka, Zuko's on our side now."

Sokka laughed bitterly. "I'm supposed to believe that? He made you say that, didn't he?"

"Sokka, how can he make me say anything while you're on top of him?"

"Oh, he's crafty, I'm sure he has ways." Sokka glared at Zuko, who glared back just as fiercely.

"Sokka, please believe me." I said softly. "He's the leader of a rebel army. You've heard of it, haven't you?"

"Zuko, the leader of The Earth Kingdom Rebels? Katara, what happened? Did you bang your head while you were gone?"

"Listen to me! I'm telling the truth!" Agh! Sokka was just as stubborn as he had been a year ago.

"I think we should listen to her, Sokka." Aang spoke for the first time. He was looking up at me with piercing, discerning eyes. "Katara wouldn't lie to us."

Sokka seemed to think about it for a moment. I could see his eyes shift from me to Aang, to Zuko, still beneath him, before he finally shifted and let go of Zuko's wrists. He stood and backed away from Zuko, studying the Prince with mistrust. Zuko turned at shot me a look that said 'you owe me big time'.

I felt a stirring of pleasure at the thought of making it up to him. I shook the thought from my head. Now was not the time.

"We're staying in a little hut just east of here. Would you like to come back with us and have some rice and eggs?" Aang beamed at me. "It would give you a chance to tell your story."

I sighed. "Yes, Aang, that would be wonderful."

The rice and eggs were delicious. I ate as if I'd not eaten in a year. And, to be honest, I really hadn't. Unless you called the hardened bread and dried meat of our army rations food.

While I chewed, I described the past year in great detail, painting with words for them the vast, gruesome battles, the joyous victories, the rousing speeches given to the troops by Zuko, and sometimes me. Disbelief melted into amazement on Aang and Sokka's faces as I described the army, the fortress in the mountain, and the way Zuko had become leader of the rebels.

Of course, I left out several details that the boys didn't have to know about at the moment, such as the fact that Zuko and I shared a bed, though, of course, nothing more than that. Or the fact that we'd kissed. And fallen in love...

That could all come later.

"Wow, Katara!" Aang sighed. "And I thought Sokka and I had an exciting year!"

"What _did _you and Sokka do?" I pushed my empty bowl away. Army rations would never be the same after thatmeal.

"When we came back from town and noticed you were gone, we went looking for you." Sokka spoke before Aang could. His eyes were dark and they rested on Zuko, as if he still believed it was the Prince's fault I had disappeared.

"We followed your tracks to the river. They went up to the edge of the forest, and then just stopped." Sokka explained. I nodded. One of the first things I had learned after joining the earthbender army was how to erase your tracks in the snow. It was one of their most basic battle tactics. Doubtless they'd used it the day they captured us.

"But we saw that the ice was disturbed. There were many cracks in it. And then... we went further out and... there was a hole in the ice." A look of unbearable sorrow crossed Aang's face. "We searched the river. We called your name until our voices left us. We ran through the forest looking for you until our feet bled with blisters. But you were gone." Aang's voice faltered a little, and Sokka broke in.

"We did this for a month, gradually widening our searching until a month had passed and we'd not even found a footprint. Finally, we accepted that you must have fallen through the ice and drowned." Sokka's shoulders slumped as the memory descended upon him.

"What did you do after that?" I said, trying to push away the feelings of guilt.

"What we had to do. Aang still needed to learn fire and earth bending, so we came to the Earth Kingdom to learn."

"Did you find an earthbender to teach you?"

"Many, actually. Aang's become quite good at it." Sokka said proudly. How like brothers they'd become! Aang beamed and spun a few rocks effortlessly in above his palm, then tossed them into the air and made them explode in little puffs of dust.

"Now imagine that, only bigger." Aang opened his arms wide as he hefted an imaginary rock. I laughed and congratulated him.

"Then, Aang suggested we come here." Sokka rolled his eyes. "I thought it was a waste of time, but he seemed to think it was worth a try."

"What do you mean, worth a try?" I asked, confused.

"Well, he wanted to see Aunt Wu and ask her if she knew where you were."

Aunt Wu! No wonder the town looked so familiar! This was the village of the fortuneteller! Just then, the door opened and the crazy girl from the well strode inside, holding a jug of water. She was smiling broadly when she walked in, but the smile dropped immediately into a disappointed frown when her eyes came to rest on me. Everything was falling together. I knew this girl...

"Oh, I see she's back." Meng said.

"Yeah! Isn't it great?" Aang said cheerfully.

"Wonderful." Meng said, though her voice said that my visit was anything but. She walked into the kitchen with her water jug. I hid a smile. Now it was all beginning to make sense. I'd been in love with Zuko long enough by now to know that the look Meng was sending Aang was far from just a friendly one. And I wasn't sure if Aang wasn't sending the same look back.

She'd certainly changed over the course of the past year. She'd grown almost as tall as Aang and had developed the budding curves of young womanhood. Her hair, though still unruly, was now braided in a more adult style that suited her well.

"And of course, Aunt Wu told us absolutely nothing." Sokka continued talking.

"Yes, she did! She told us 'all are where they are supposed to be'." Aang defended the old fortuneteller.

"Yeah, which is a fancy way of saying 'I don't know'." Sokka rolled his eyes.

"Well, she was right, wasn't she? Everyone _was _where they should be."

"Anyway," Sokka ignored Aang. "She told us to stay here and we would find what we sought."

"And see? She was right again! You came right to us." Aang beamed.

"That's because they followed a trail of sightings that led them to us! It had nothing to do with her!" Sokka shouted, waving his hands in the air.

"Sure it did! She predicted it, didn't she?" Aang said. Sokka groaned and covered his face in his hands. I laughed out loud. It was so good to be back with my brother and Aang. I had missed them. I'd missed their arguing. I'd missed Sokka's big brother bossiness. I'd missed Aang's undying optimism. I felt like breaking down into tears right there at the table, but I didn't. A thought had come suddenly to my mind.

"Find what you sought... wait... Aang, do you know firebending?" I asked. Aang's face fell.

"No. I tried to find the old master, the one that defected from the Fire Nation and taught me some of what he knew, but I couldn't find him. I'm sorry that I didn't listen closer to his teachings." Aang paused. "But I wasn't ready at the time. He was right. I_ was_ too impatient."

"What about now?" I asked, an idea beginning to form in my mind.

"I feel ready." Aang said with conviction. "But I don't know where to find a..." Aang's voice trailed away as he looked at Zuko, who had remained silent at the end of the table, listening to our conversation.

A hush fell on the table. All eyes turned to Zuko.

It was settled. We would stay in the little village of the fortuneteller for a week, to give Zuko some time to teach Aang without being bothered by the army's demands. He'd placed his most trusted captain in charge when he'd left, and felt secure knowing that the man would do a good job overseeing the army while he was gone.

That night, Aang called a meeting in the village and introduced us to the villagers, who welcomed us with cheers and applauding when they found out it was Zuko and I that commanded the rebel army that kept their borders safe. Aang brought me to the village stables afterward to say hello to Appa, who licked me thoroughly with his rough pink tongue in greeting. Zuko wisely kept his distance.

That night, I slept on a mat on the floor, sharing the little room with Sokka and Aang and Zuko. It was the first night I'd spent outside of Zuko's arms for almost a year. I frowned in the flickering firelight. It would not be an easy night. I'd gotten used to the safety and strength I'd felt in his embrace, and now the night seemed all the darker and colder without him, though he was in the same room.

But the fire burned brightly, chasing away the darkness and the loneliness. Closing my eyes, I let the heaviness of sleep weigh down my eyelids and bring me dreams of passionate fire.

The next day dawned bright and early. Just as the sun was coming over the peak of the mountain, I met Zuko and Aang by a small pond in the crevice of a mountain. Aang stood straight as a rod while Zuko seated himself on the ground, three small candles in front of him. Waving his hand over the wicks, Zuko lighted the candles and then looked up at Aang.

"Fire bending is in the breath. Unlike the other elements, our power comes from inside of us, which is why it is so important to learn self-control first." Zuko said, closing his eyes and drawing in a deep breath, inviting Aang to do the same.

I readied myself for Aang to whine and pout about wanting to skip the easy stuff and work on the more advanced moves. But, to my delighted surprise, Aang bowed and sat down across from Zuko, taking in a deep breath as he was instructed.

Something hadchanged in Aang. There was more determination. More resolve. More self-control. I began to hold out hope for the world.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

"Kiaaa!" Aang's voice, though it had grown more masculine, was still no match for the deeper, more powerful yell of Zuko's as the two boys sprinted toward each other in the yawning meadow. Hands flaming, the muscles of their shirtless torsos taut in battle, they sent ribbons of deadly fire at each other.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the earth beneath me. Both boys were blown apart and lay smoking on either edge of the field.

"Aang! How often do I have to say this? You are _not _to use airbending and firebending at the same time!" Zuko sat up, rubbing his shoulder.

"Sorry, Zuko." Aang replied with a cheeky smile.

I grinned from my place on the grass. Zuko had turned out to be a surprisingly good teacher. Aang was learning with a speed that gave me a budding hope that the young avatar might be ready to face the Fire Nation by summer's end.

Summer's end. It was getting closer. I wished I could help Aang, help him learn faster, but he'd already learned waterbending, and I would be no help teaching him firebending. So, I'd opted to spend my afternoons helping Meng prepare for the village celebration.

It was going to be a big affair, lasting all night. There would be a huge table laden with food, and musicians of every kind would be playing in the streets, inviting people to dance. There would be singing and games and contests for everyone to participate in. It was the highlight of the villagers' year, and each family worked diligently to decorate their house and prepare delicious food to share with the community. I'd thought that helping Meng might draw me and the girl closer, but for some reason Meng remained aloof and almost disdainful of my friendship. I assumed it must just be that time of her cycle.

"They fight magnificently, don't they, Meng?" I asked her, trying to stir up conversation.

"Yes. Now could you please take your eyes off Aang for a moment and help me put together this streamer?" She huffed. I smiled and began to help her cut out long lengths of yellow and green cloth and tie them together.

To tell the truth, I'd not been looking at Aang at all. Rather, I'd been admiring the hard, flexing muscles of the Fire Prince. I felt my stomach do a flip inside of me as I watched him strut across the meadow and show Aang a difficult firebending move for the fourth time that morning. It was a beautiful move involving complex footwork and a graceful, sinuous arching of the spine. I felt my fingertips tingle as I imagined running my hand over his chest, letting the fire that burned beneath his skin run up through my fingers and into my arm.

But no. Our love had to remain hidden for now, until the right time. But that didn't mean we couldn't find secret ways to express our feelings: a kiss stolen in the dark behind the house, a hug shared before breakfast while the rest slept, a nuzzle exchanged when no one was looking. A blush spread across my cheeks. Who could imagine that such simple actions could produce such a stirring of pleasure?

"You like having him back, don't you?" I came crashing back to earth at the sound of Meng's voice. I turned my face from the meadow to look at the girl, who was staring at the me with a look of sadness and frustration.

"What do you mean?" I was puzzled. There was something going on here... something I didn't know about.

"You missed Aang, didn't you?" Meng turned her large brown eyes on me. They looked hurt and betrayed, and I couldn't figure out why.

"Of course I missed him! I missed Sokka, too."

"Well, he missed you, too. He cried about you, you know!" Meng's voice lifted with righteous indignation.

"What? Who?"

"Aang, of course. The first time he came to Aunt Wu to ask her where you were, he cried and told me how it was all his fault." Guilt settled like a blanket over my shoulders. Why was this girl saying all this?

"How could you do that to him?" Meng pierced me with her eyes.

"Meng, I didn't really have a choice."

"You could have escaped!" The little girl was trembling with rage now.

"Meng, it's a little more complicated than that. You don't understand-"

"No! _You _don't understand! He loved you! He loved you and you threw that away. _I _was there for him when you left! _I _held his hand while he cried! _I _love him more than you ever could, and you just think you can walk in here and take him back?" Her voice was raised to a shrill pitch.

My world spun a little as the full reality of Meng's words sunk in. Aang had liked me? No wonder he was always trying to show off to me... but Meng thought I liked him back! That was absurd. He'd never been anything more to me than a good friend. Or perhaps the little brother I'd never had. But never more than that, and certainly not now that Zuko had captured my heart!

"But, Meng! I don't... I mean, I never... I'm not-" The words caught in my throat. I needed to let her know that I was in love with someone else, but I couldn't tell her about Zuko. It might get back to Aang or Sokka, and if it did... I shuddered.

So I was left there, my mouth opening and closing like a dying fish, while Meng tossed her braid at me and walked away. She mumbled something under her breath. It was said so low that I could hardly hear it. I could only catch the last word...

Did she just call me...

Floozy?

"They look great, Katara." Aang smiled as he admired the streamers that draped in luxurious waves over the edge of the roof. From the corner of my eye I caught Meng shoot me a poisonous look.

"Well, Aang, thanks, but Meng did most of the work." I said quickly. The boys had just finished practicing, and had now come back from the meadow to admire the work Meng and I had done on the decorating for Festival Day.

"Yeah, I know. I was watching her. Um... not for any reason... just... I wanted to point out that she was doing something wrong." Aang said, a blush forming over his cheeks. I saw Meng's face fall.

_Wait a minute. Why is Aang being so mean to Meng? That's not like him._ I gave the young Avatar a disapproving look. That's when I noticed his attention was focused elsewhere: on Sokka. My older brother was giving Aang a thumb's up sign. _Oh great. Don't tell me Sokka's giving out relationship advice again. _I groaned inwardly. I'd have to find some time when Meng wasn't around Aang to clear the Avatar's head of whatever nonsense Sokka'd put there.

It was a surprisingly difficult task. Meng stuck to Aang like glue, showing him things, asking his opinion, getting his approval. It was cute. Finally, my opportunity came when we arrived back at Sokka and Aang's little house and Meng went out to buy some supper.

"Aang, can I talk to you... outside?" I asked. Aang airbended himself enthusiastically from the floor and rushed to my side. "Of course, Karara!"

Outside the air was cool and fresh, a welcome change from the warm summer's heat. I breathed in deep and relished the early evening's soft breeze.

"What did you want to talk about, Katara?" Aang asked. He settled himself on the ground and started to play with a tiny flame he'd firebended onto his palm. _Where do I start? _I wondered to myself. I sighed and decided to start out with something easy.

"Well, I just wanted to catch up on things. You know, since I've been gone and all." I stalled for time as I tried to bring the right words to mind.

"This is a nice house."

"Thanks! The villagers gave it to me and Sokka as a way of saying 'thanks for saving our village from the volcano." I nodded. Aang nodded. There was silence. I sighed. There was no easy way about it. I just had to be blunt.

"Do you like Meng?"

The flame that had been burning in Aang's palm intensified before he clapped his other palm over it and put it out with a poof of smoke.

"Well... I," Aang blushed. "Listen, Katara, it's not that I don't like you anymore. I hope you're not mad. Or disappointed. I just... I really like her. She's fun!" I smiled. I hadseen Meng and Aang banter and play together. They both had a childish sense of fun that suited each other well.

"Don't worry Aang, I'm sure I'll get over it." I said. Aang smiled at me brightly. "Now, let me take a guess: Sokka's been teaching you how to win Meng's heart, hasn't he?"

"He sure has! He says I'm doing really good at the ignoring and insulting parts. I still have to practice the annoyed part, though." Aang looked at me like a student expecting praise from his teacher. I sighed.

"Aang, I hate to tell you this, but that's not the way to win a girl's heart." Aang's smile dropped so fast I thought his mouth might hit the floor.

"Really? But Sokka said-"

"Never mind what Sokka said. I'm a girl, right?"

"Right."

"So I would know what things make a girl happy, right?"

"I guess so."

"So, do you want to know what those things are?" Aang leapt from his seat and nodded so hard his whole body shook. I smiled. I'd missed the young Avatar's enthusiasm.

"Tell her how you feel about her. Be nice to her. Smile at her. Compliment her, but mean what you say. Help her with chores. Give her something you made yourself." The list could have gone on, but I didn't want to overwhelm him.

"Wow! Thanks Katara, those are some great ideas!" Aang was gone, his figure a flash of yellow as he darted into the marketplace. I laughed and shook my head as I walked back inside the house.

"What was that about?" Sokka was lounging on his mat, chewing leechie nuts.

"Just wanted to catch up on some stuff. Where did Zuko go?" I looked around the little house, but the Fire Prince was strangely absent.

"Mr. Grumpy went to gather some kindling to cook dinner over."

"Do you know which way he went?"

"Why?"

"I... um... have something important to tell him... you know... rebel army stuff and all that." It wasn't really a lie. I _did_ want to talk to Zuko about what our next move would be when we got back, but if Sokka knew the _real _reason I wanted a chance alone with Zuko in the woods he would have tied me up and gone after Zuko with a hunting spear.

"Oh. He went that way." Sokka pointed lazily over his shoulder to the north. "But why you'd want to talk to that jerk is beyond me." He mumbled as I headed out the door.

"Sokka, you should give Zuko a chance. You might end up liking him."

"That's never going to happen, Katara."

Zuko didn't leave much of a trail, but I hadn't spent a year fighting in the rebel army without learning something about tracking. A small indentation in the grass, a freshly-broken twig, the scent of smoke and fire lingering on a bush that had brushed his clothing: all were nearly-invisible arrows pointing to where my love had gone.

I had walked a long way into the forest before I began to hear the gentle murmuring of a stream. I quickened my pace. It would be nice to practice a little waterbending while I was out here and...

I stopped dead in my tracks and a blush covered my face when I saw that I was not alone. Zuko knelt by a large pool of water, stripped down except for the loose shorts he wore beneath his pants. He was splashing water over his body and rubbing away the dirt and dust that streaked his bare torso. I quickly averted my eyes and made a coughing sound.

"You don't have to do that. I know you're there. You walk through the woods like a herd of Komodo rhinoceroses ." Zuko said without turning. I put my hands on my hips and strode up to him.

"Really? Well, any _child _could have followed the trail you left in the woods."

"If you'd spent the entire day fighting the Avatar you might have been a little too tired to take care not to leave a trail, too." Zuko snapped.

"Oh, sorry, your highness, I forgot that I was only doing woman's work."

"Don't feel bad, Katara. It's not your fault that you're not as good a fighter as me." Zuko's face was deadpan, but his eyes blazed with mischief. He was asking for it. I decided to give it to him.

I grabbed his arm and pushed hard, sending him over the bank and into the pool, but not before he'd grabbed my arm, too, pulling me in with him.

The pool was deeper than I thought, and I had to waterbend to reach the surface again. The water was cool and refreshing. It washed away the dust and the day's tiredness, filling me with renewed energy. I broke through the surface, followed quickly by Zuko.

He smiled at me, his eyes burning gold against the blue water, a contrast in shades that sent shivers of delight up my spine.

"Look what you did, you clumsy water peasant." He teased.

"What _I_ did? _You're _the one that lost his balance, spoiled prince." I shot back, then smiled and dove under the water. It bent and swirled around me, letting me glide under Zuko and pop up behind him. I tapped his shoulder and smiled playfully.

Zuko whirled to face me. Or at least he tried to. Water was not his element, and it did not bend and maneuver for him, so his turn was awkward at best. He thrashed at the water with one arm and winced. That's when I noticed a red mark on his shoulder.

"You need healing." I said, immediately sobering. I touched the mark gently and started to prepare an orb of healing water in my other hand. But Zuko grabbed my wrist and looked deeply into my eyes.

"No, Katara. You're always healing and helping others. It's time I gave you something for _you _to enjoy." He dropped my wrist and hoisted himself over the lip of the pool. Seated on the bank, he opened his legs and invited me in.

"Zuko!" I yelled, a blush heating my skin from my forehead to my toes, despite the chilly water. The prince rolled his eyes and sighed before he reached forward, grabbed my shoulders and spun me around, pulling me against his thighs. Then he began to knead my shoulders with his warm hands.

_Oh. A massage. Of course. I knew that was what he meant. _After the embarrassment of my mistake faded, I was able to relax and enjoy his hands working away the knots and aches that had accumulated. I sighed a happy, contented sigh. His hands warmed, further relaxing me. Oh, firebender wives were _so_ lucky. I closed my eyes and let his hands push and pull at my muscles like waves against a shore.

"Oh Zuko..." I purred. Suddenly, I felt Zuko's hot breath on my neck, felt his lips brush my skin, painting brush strokes of heat on the nape of my neck. I moaned and he kissed harder, more passionately. I shivered in delight.

"Katara, did you ever notice how the fire would die each night, back when we lived in the little room in the earthbender fortress?" He asked. I blinked in confusion. Why was he bringing this up now?

"Yes... I remember..." I said slowly.

"Didn't you ever wonder why the fire would die like that, in the middle of the night, even when there was still plenty of wood left to burn?" He said, his sultry voice punctuated by the kisses he painted on my skin.

_Where's he going with this? _I did remember the fire dying, and how cold I'd been, and how I'd had to crawl in close to Zuko. Of course, I would never have admitted it to myself at the time, but I'd quite enjoyed it. So much so that I'd not bothered to investigate why the fire died each night.

"No, I guess I didn't... but now I'm curious." I said, turning to face him. The sun was now setting, sending golden and red flares into the darkening sky. I gasped at the effect it had on the Prince's face. His scarred side was facing the darkness, while his unscarred side was lit with the golden glow of the sunset. Seeing him like that was like seeing him as he truly was. I was seeing the Zuko that existed beneath the layers of pain and exile and torture. The true Zuko. The one that was slowly emerging with each passing day he spent with me. His lips moved, and I realized he was speaking again.

"I made it die. I... I wanted you to be with me." He said. I smiled inwardly when I saw a blush cross the Prince's face.

"I love you, Zuko."

"I love you, Katara."

We kissed, and soon, our little pool had turned into a hot spring.

"What are you two so happy about?" Sokka grumbled, seeing me walk into the house with Zuko.

"Oh, um...we uh... we talked about some military strategies that will be very effective." I said, wiping the smile from my face quickly. Sokka just shrugged.

"Well, while you were out playing army, you missed supper." Sokka nodded to the empty bowls on the table.

"It's okay, Katara, I saved you and Zuko some." Meng held up a bowl, a little smile on her face. _A peace offering. Aang must have taken my advice. _I bowed to her and accepted the bowl, grateful for a cease-fire.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

"KIA!" Aang came at Zuko, palms raised, fire blazing from his fingertips. Zuko ducked just in time to see a fireball whirl over his head and dissipate in the air behind him. Though the blow was ineffective, Aang whirled quickly and lashed out with his foot, sending a stream of fire at Zuko's ankles. Zuko blocked the strike and tried to counter with a hit to Aang's solar plexis, but Aang anticipated the attack and used Zuko's force against him, pivoting so that Zuko's hand went into the air over the boy's shoulder, causing him to loose his balance. Taking this opportunity, Aang struck Zuko's feet out from under him.

Zuko lay on the ground, looking up with surprise at the young Avatar.

"You beat me." It was almost more of a question than a declaration, as if the proud young Prince couldn't believe what he was saying.

"Hey! I did, didn't I?" Aang beamed and extended a hand to help Zuko up. "Does that mean I'm a master now?"

"No." Zuko said, somewhat moody from having been beaten. "I've taught you everything I know, but you need to practice it before you can call yourself a master. Firebending is an difficult, sacred art that takes years to even begin to truly appreciate. The bender must-"

"I know, I know." Aang sighed, then mimicked Zuko's deeper voice "the bender must practice self-control and diligence in every aspect of his life and must spend years training his body and working it into submission to truly handle fire with the respect it deserves." Aang finished Zuko's sentence for him.

"You've told me before." Aang said, sitting in the grass with a glazed, bored expression passing over his impish features. I looked to Zuko. Indignation flashed in Zuko's eyes for a moment, but then the firebender seemed to relax and soften a little. I smiled. Aang had been good for Zuko's lack of patience. The Fire Prince had learned a great deal of the virtue while teaching Aang firebending.

"So, if you've taught me everything, does that mean I'm ready to go back with you to the earthbender army?" Aang was practically bouncing.

"Yes. We'll leave tomorrow morning." Zuko said decisively.

"I'll start packing." I went inside the house and began to organize our things. It was not as easy a job as I'd imagined it would be. Although Zuko and I had walked into the camp with only our backpacks full of essentials, we were now burdened with not only our own essentials, but also the many gifts the villagers had given us as a way of saying 'thank you'.

Some of the gifts were practical: blankets, new shoes, provisions. But others were simply absurd, such as hats made of duck feathers and a ten foot rudder that one townsman said would 'help you steer the great shaggy beast better.' I was tempted to leave such gifts behind, but I didn't want to insult the people who had so graciously accommodated us.

So, I sacrificed my entire afternoon to organizing and bundling and piling not only mine and Zuko's things, but also Aang's and Sokka's. I only stopped packing when I realized I was having trouble seeing my hands in the growing darkness. I stretched, wincing at the cricks that had formed in my knees and back while I'd knelt on the floor, and lit some lamps.

Suddenly, a small thing with thousands of little waving arms streaked into the house and began to bubble at me.

"Where's Aang? He said he'd be ready for the festival!" It squeaked. Finally, it stopped dashing around the room and stood still long enough for me to get a look at it.

It was Meng. She'd tied so many ribbons to her unruly hair that she looked like a porcupine that had gotten into a fight with a sheet.

"Aang and Zuko are finishing up practicing for today." I said. "If you want, you can go into the field and get them."

Meng made a beeline for the door. "Oh, wait. Meng, have you seen Sokka?"

"He's already at the festival. He wanted to be the first one there when the food started arriving."

I inspected myself in front of the mirror. _Not bad. _I smiled as I tucked a piece of hair back into the bun I'd wound on top of my head. It was a more adult style than what I'd worn back home in the Water Tribe, and it fit me well, for I _had _grown over the past year. It was clear in the sharpening angles of my face and the way my curves no longer fit so well inside my tunic.

But my tunic had been abandoned tonight for the graceful lines of a new dress. It had been given to me by a kindly old woman after she'd learned of mine and Zuko's efforts in the rebel army. She'd explained that it had once belonged to her, when she was very young, but now she was old and would rather see it come alive once more on the frame of a young girl. My fingers smoothed the delicate, silky fabric that draped in luxurious folds from my waist. I'd not touched anything so soft in the entire year I'd spent in the rebel army.

It felt so good now, swishing around my ankles and hugging my bosom in a way that complimented my womanhood instead of hiding it, as the earthbender tunics had. I twirled in front of the mirror, watching as the shadows cast by the candle dance over the shimmering blue fabric. It was almost as if I wearing my element.

"It's beautiful." A low, husky voice murmured from the doorway. I whirled and dropped into a fighting stance. A hand came from the shadows, enveloping my wrist in a hot, intimate touch as it pulled me toward a pair of eyes that flickered the same golden glow as the candles.

"Zuko." I whispered, burying my face in his chest, breathing deep the smell of fire and heat and smoke. _Zuko. _He ran his fingers up my bare arms, over the collar of my dress, and tangled them in my hair. My bun pulled out, causing my hair to splash around my shoulders like water into a fountain.

I embraced him, aching, yearning for more. I knew he felt it, too, by the tightness of his muscles and his panting, quick breaths. I ran my hands up his chest, feeling the increasing heat of his body warm my fingertips. I traced his jawline with my index finger, then hooked it beneath his chin and brought him closer. I placed my mouth by his ear.

"We'd better get going before they get suspicious and start looking for us." I whispered, and swished from the house, leaving Zuko to catch his breath and follow me.

The festival was filled with the sounds of people laughing and shouting to each other, the lyrical plucking of the strings of a Bashi, the stomp of feet as couples danced by the fountain, and the appreciative sounds made by those sampling the array of food that was laid out on a long table.

I looked over the colorful garden of the villagers dressed in their best, searching for the faces of Sokka and Aang, but it was impossible to pick them out from the whirling, bustling, laughing crowd.

"Do you see Aang or Sokka?" I asked Zuko, hoping that his height might give him an advantage in spotting the boys. Zuko turned to look at me, amusement playing behind his eyes.

"You mean you don't know where your brother is?" He asked. I smiled and shook my head at my own foolishness.

We headed to the food table.

The night flew by as if it were bourne on wings. I tasted food of every kind, from spicy and hot to cool and sweet. I clapped along to the beat as musicians wove songs into the night sky, setting the stars dancing over our heads. I laughed as Aang performed tricks and put on a great show of element bending for an enthusiastic audience. I even got a chance to show off some of my waterbending moves, creating a spectacular, glittering castle of ice to surround the the village fountain. Zuko was the only bender that refused to perform. Though the townspeople begged him to create something beautiful with fire, Zuko's princely pride kept him leaning glumly against the side of house, staring with a moody gaze at the festivities.

But I enjoyed myself, despite him. In just a few hours I would be back in my earthbender tunic, back in the war boots I'd worn for the past year, back in the blood and the pain and the endless fighting. For now, I was going to enjoy forgetting.

But the night could not last forever. As the moon reached it zenith in the sky, a few of the villagers began to yawn and head for their homes. Even Aang showed signs of tiredness, his little eyelids dropping while he danced with Meng. The two looked as if they would fall asleep where they stood. I poked Sokka, who was sitting by the food table with a distended belly and a happy smile on his face.

"Maybe you'd better take those two home. We have a big day tomorrow and Aang will need his rest." I said. Sokka groaned and complained, but did as I said. With him gone, I looked around for Zuko.

We'd not been able to speak to each other all night, knowing that a simple slip of the tongue could rouse Aang or Sokka's suspicions. That was the last thing I wanted to happen before a long trip back to the rebel army fortress. But now... with Sokka and Aang gone...

"You're determined not to have fun, aren't you?" I said, tugging on Zuko's tunic playfully. He just continued pouting.

"We should be preparing for battle." He gloomed.

"Zuko! I've already packed everything. There's nothing left to get ready."

"Then we should be training."

"You know, I don't think you're that worried about training. I think you just don't know how to have fun." I teased, poking him in the ribs.

"Yes I do!"

"Really? Then tell me the last time you did anything even remotely fun."

A smirk twisted his lips. "How about when you pushed me in the water and-"

"No, I mean besides just with me."

He lifted his hand and pushed a tendril of hair away from my eyes, causing a waterfall of tingles to wash down my spine. "How could I have fun without you?" I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

"Dance with me." He whispered, extending a hand. I was taken back. Among my other misconceptions of Zuko, I'd harbored the belief that he must not know how to dance.

_Of course he does, you silly girl. He's a prince, isn't he? _I felt myself reach forward. I felt his warm, strong fingers grasp my small cool ones with gentle firmness. He led me to the middle of the square, where the remaining couples still danced beneath a starry sky.

I felt his palm slide around my waist to rest on the small of my back. He pulled me close, so close that I could feel the heat from his skin and smell the familiar scent of his body. I placed my hand on his shoulder, let the other one rest in his grasp, and let him lead me gently around the square.

It was a soft tune. It fell softly on my ears and swayed in time to our movements, it seemed to tangle in my limbs, lifting them like the strings of a marionette. I lost myself in the music, in the starry sky above me, in the embrace that wrapped me tightly to Zuko's chest, in the golden eyes that stared at me with passion, with respect, with love.

Love. I loved this man. I smiled, if I'd have been told years ago that I would fall in love with the prince of the Fire Nation, I would have considered them crazy. The words of Aunt Wu came echoing back to me. _You will fall in love with a powerful bender. _

Yes, Aunt Wu, a powerful bender. But not just that. A strong leader. A brilliant strategist. A compassionate warrior. A handsome Prince. A loving man. I leaned my head against Zuko's chest and breathed deep his fragrance. If this night never ended, I would be all too happy.

The night may not have ended at that moment, but the song did. With a heart-tugging flourish, the musician put down his instrument and picked up another one. With a nod to the other players, a new tune picked up. This one was fast, powerful, pounding. Zuko grinned and then leaned forward to whisper in my ear.

"I know this dance. It is popular in the Fire Nation. But it is fast, do you think you can handle it?" His eyes glimmered in the torchlight, daring me.

"Only if you are." I shot back, putting my hand in his and lifting my chin to stare down my nose at him. Suddenly, it felt as if my feet had been swept from beneath me as Zuko pulled me into the fast rhythm of the song.

I was clumsy at first, and had a hard time getting my feet to obey the sharp, powerful movements that the music demanded, but it didn't take me long to learn the steps. My heart began to pound and heat flushed my cheeks. No wonder this dance was popular in the Fire Nation.

I had a hard time keeping up, and it seemed I wasn't the only one. When I chanced a look around at the other couples, I found that we were alone in the dance square, while the rest stood on the side, watching us along with the other villagers that had stayed up past their bedtimes.

Any self-consciousness I might have felt at being the only couple left vanished like steam in the hot gaze of my dance partner. I bent and twisted with him, felt his muscles flex and harden against my body as he sent me spinning and pulled me close. Heat surrounded me, and the torches the surrounded the square seemed to burn brighter. I felt feverish and dizzy, and I wanted more. But the song was coming to an end. With a powerful, energetic flourish, the song ended and Zuko's hand lowered, pulling our hips together as he dropped me into a graceful arch.

With a jerk of his wrist he brought me back up to face him. But the jerk had been too powerful, and I was propelled into him, my hands pressed hard against his chest, my face centimeters from him, my hot breath mingling with his.

The heat was there.

The desire was there...

Our mouths pressed together, thirsty for the taste of each others lips.

Thunderous applause rose from the audience. I was dimly aware of increased brightness and heat. I realized that Zuko's passion must be causing the torches to put on a marvelous show. I smiled inwardly. The villagers were getting a firebending demonstration from Zuko after all, whether he meant to or not.

Finally, we broke the kiss, panting and smiling at each other. The world, the war, all was lost to us as we basked in each other's gaze. There was just me and Zuko

... and Sokka?

The ground dropped out from beneath me as I recognized Sokka's face in the crowd behind Zuko's shoulder. _No, it can't be! _But it was. Sokka was standing at the edge of the circle, a piece of peach pie splattered over his shoes, his mouth open and his eyes betraying a whirlwind of emotions: shock, betrayal, anger, and sadness all fought for dominance of his features.

"Sokka..." His name was wrenched from my throat with painful despair. _No! This wasn't supposed to happen! He was supposed to find out later... when he was ready. _I looked at him pleadingly, as if I could just will him to understand. As if my eyes could explain everything to him. But they couldn't.

He ran from the crowd. I turned to Zuko. "I have to go to him." I said quickly, pulling myself from Zuko's grasp.

"Let me come with you." He said.

"No. If you come with me, one of you won't be coming back."

I found Sokka on the road going out of the village. He was pacing and muttering to himself. I approached slowly, stalling for time. I wanted to collect my thoughts and prepare arguments in my defense before he had a chance to tongue lash me.

I stopped a few feet away. He was still pacing and muttering, but now he was louder, speaking so that I could hear him.

"I go down into the village to get a snack of peach pie, and what do I see? You and that... that... _firebender _making a snack of each other!" Sokka wrinkled his nose and convulsed as if it were the most horrid thing in the world.

"No! That can't be it. He forced himself on you, didn't he? And you just didn't know what to do, so you just kissed back, right?" Sokka turned to face me, desperation making his voice rise in the cool night air. I lowered my face and shook my head.

"Okay, so you kissed him, but you didn't mean to, right? I mean, it was just the music and the food and the dancing, right? You were thinking of Haru, right? He was a nice guy. You were thinking of him, that's all. Or Jet! Yeah, even Jet would be okay..." Sokka's eyes were wild as he dreamed up fantasies to replace the awful truth that was turning his world upside down.

"Sokka... I didn't want you to find out like this... not so soon... not like this..."

"Find out what? It's okay, Katara! It's not your fault that the stupid firebender stole your first kiss. I'll get him back for it. It's my fault. I should have been there." Sokka whipped his boomerang out and started walking toward the town, the lust for vengeance coloring his cheeks.

"Sokka... tonight wasn't... the first time." I admitted. Sokka turned on me slowly, his body trembling, his eyes disbelieving.

"He's forced himself on you before? Why didn't you tell me? I'll kill that worthless-"

"No, Sokka. He didn't force himself on me. I kissed him, too." Sokka's shoulders slumped and he fell to the ground, landing heavily on his bottom as if his legs hadn't the strength to stand anymore.

"Why?" Sokka's eyes were wide and pained as he looked at me.

"Because... I love him." It came out a trembling whisper. I wasn't even sure if Sokka heard it at first. But then...

"YOU LOVE HIM?" I thought for sure the people all the way back in the village could have heard him scream. I closed my eyes and waited.

"How can you say that?" Sokka shouted. "He's a filthy firebender! Not just a firebender, he's the _Prince _of firebenders!"

"So?" I asked. Sokka looked at me as if I'd just told him Appa could sing and dance.

"SO? Firebenders are disgusting, vile, horrid-"

"Sokka! Do you hear yourself?" My brother was silenced by my shout and stared at me dumbly. "Do you remember nothing Gran-Gran taught us? She used to tell us that everyone was a person, no matter what element they could bend. Did you forget how our mother used to say-"

"His people _killed _our mother, Katara!" Sokka screamed, pointed toward the village.

"But Zuko didn't-"

"No, Katara, you're right. He didn't. His father did! What makes you think he's any different?"

"He's fighting his father! He's raised an army and-"

"And then what? Even if he does beat Ozai, who's to say he won't turn into the same monster his father was once he's on the throne?"

"Because I'll be there."

"What?" Sokka's eyes were wide, his hands trembling.

"I love him, Sokka, and there's nothing you can do to stop that."

"Yes I can! I _forbid_ you to love him!" He crossed his arms and looked at me like a rebellious child.

"Sokka!" I laughed bitterly "You can't forbid someone to love! Love is not something you can will away."

"While father is gone, I am the one who has to look out for your safety, and Zuko is a definite threat to your safety, so that means I forbid you to love him."

"A threat to my safety, or to yours?" I asked quietly.

"Mine? What do you mean?"

"You've built a nice little pedestal to stand on, haven't you? Thinking your better than an entire race of people?"

"I don't-"

"It must really tweak your pride to know that your sister's fallen in love with one of them."

"That's not it at all, Katara! I'm just concerned for your happiness. How do you know Zuko's not like his father?"

"Because I've looked into his eyes. I've battled with him, and seen him spare his enemies mercy. I've had him carefully tend to my wounds when I could not. I've seen him fight until he bled just to protect one small village."

"That doesn't change anything. He's still a firebender, and he's not to be trusted. Until I can trust him, I forbid you to love him."

"Sokka, I'm not a little girl anymore. I don't need your protection like I used to. I can watch out for myself now. You're going to have to trust me and let me go." I said softly, placing my hand on his cheek.

I saw my older brother's lip tremble, and tears glisten in his eyes. Sadness washed over his features like a wave consuming a beach. But then his face hardened and his hands clenched. Turning from me, he stormed back to the village, leaving me alone on the road.

"You'll understand someday, Sokka..." I whispered. "You have to..."


	29. Chapter 29

**So sorry it's taken so long, beloved readers, since my last update. I was mapping out the last phase of the story (Yes, we're nearing the end) and it took some time for me to outline the ending thoroughly. Remember where we are? Katara and Zuko have met up with Sokka and Aang in the village of Aunt Wu, and Sokka has just found out about Katara's relationship with Zuko. Let's see what happens now...**

**Chapter 29**

I arrived back at the house tired, sad, and frustrated. Aang was already asleep, snoring his blissfully unaware little heart out by the dwindling fire. Zuko must have had the good sense to sleep somewhere else, as he was not the in house.

Sokka was lying on his side on his mat, his back facing me, completely motionless as if in sleep. But I knew better. When we were children he used to pretend to be asleep, and then when I'd tiptoe into bed he'd jump up and yell "Booga booga!" and make me scream and chase him around the tent. Eventually, he'd let me catch up to him and tackle him to the floor and tickle him until he apologized for scaring me. We would lie, laughing like that, until our parents chased us into bed.

I sighed. There would be no laughing tonight. Sokka would not jump up and scare me and let me chase him around the house. We'd grown up. I'd made that abundantly clear to him tonight. I felt a painful twisting in my heart as I sat by the fire and stared at the few small flames that still licked at the embers. Part of me just wanted to go up to him and slap and tell him to grow up and stop being such a jerk, and part of me wanted to run into his arms and cry and forget that the whole thing had ever happened. Forget the war and the blood and the screams of the dying. But I couldn't. There was no way to turn back time, and even if I could, I didn't want to.

Though I would never loose my sisterly love for Sokka, I'd found someone that I could share more than just embraces and tickle-fights with. My heart tingled with a familiar warmth when I thought of Zuko. After a year of fighting side by side, confessing our secret thoughts in the dark of night, rejoicing together in the victory of daylight, sharing passionate kisses beneath a twilight sky, we'd formed a bond that would not be broken. Could not be broken.

Not by Sokka. Not by Ozai. Not even by this cursed war.

Needless to say, that morning was awkward. When I awoke, Zuko was already strapping our things down onto Appa's back, his figure a tiny silhouette against Appa's hulking frame in the early morning sunlight. I made as little noise as possible as I crawled past Sokka and Aang, who were still curled up in sleep on their mats.

"You slept past sunrise again." Zuko grunted his usual morning greeting to me. Ordinarily, it would have made me smile and tease him back, but today the words fell flat and lifeless at my feet under the weight of what had taken place last night. Wordlessly, I climbed onto Appa's back and began to help Zuko strap our things down.

Eventually, Aang stumbled sleepily from his mat and stood in the doorway, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"I guess it's time to go, huh?" He said.

"That's right!" I tried to sound cheerful, but my words sounded dull even to me. Aang slumped his shoulders and began airbending packages onto Appa's back. I didn't need to ask the young Avatar why he looked so sad. He was going to have to say goodbye to Meng today. But, if there was one thing I loved about Aang, it was that he was never so lost in his own suffering not to care about that of others.

"Good morning, Sokka." I murmured as Sokka stomped out of the house and into the forest. His eyes were still red with sleep, or the lack of it, and his hair and clothes were so disheveled that he looked as if he'd been sleeping in the middle of a stampede of komodo rhinos instead of just his mat. He glowered at me and stormed into the forest. "I'm getting some leechi nuts for our journey." He shouted over his back.

"What's with him? I know Sokka's not a morning person, but he's not usually that rude." Aang looked up at me, questions written all over his face. I sighed. I would have to tell him eventually, and it would be better to get it over with now than to have it spill out once Sokka and I invariably got into an argument.

"Come with me, Aang." I said, taking the boy's shoulder and leading him to the open meadow behind the house, the meadow he and Zuko'd used to practice firebending in over the past week. I sighed, bringing to memory the many sunny days we'd spent in the meadow, practicing bending and enjoying the break from the war. Now here we were, not even out of the village yet and already we were beset with problems and troubles.

"Aang," I sighed. "Sokka is upset because he found out something..." I leaned against a tree, hoping to gain some support from its sturdy trunk.

"What?" Aang seated himself in the grass and stared up at me with wide, trusting eyes. My heart wrenched inside of me. What would he think? Would he think that I'd betrayed him by falling in love with Zuko? Would he hate me? Be disappointed in me?

"Aang...Zuko and I like each other."

"So? I like him too, now that he's not chasing us and trying to capture me anymore." Aang rubbed his bald little head.

I sighed. "No, Aang, I don't mean like that. Zuko and I... _love_ each other." I turned my face from the young avatar, not wanting to see the horrified, betrayed expression that would surely warp its innocent features.

"I know. What? That's it?" I whirled to face Aang and almost toppled over my own feet as I stared at him in surprise.

"What do you mean, 'you know'? You knew that... that Zuko and I... that we love each other?" I stammered, sliding my back down the tree so that I could sit. The ground didn't seem so stable a thing anymore.

"Yep." Aang nodded, giving me that cheeky smile of his.

"But... how?" I put my hand to my forehead.

"You forget, Katara, I'm the Avatar. I have thousands of years worth of wisdom in my head." He beamed, puffing out his chest proudly. I raised an eyebrow at him, which earned a sheepish smile from Aang as well as a little confession.

"Well, there were also a few little things that I noticed. It was kind of hard to believe that you would come back to the house blushing and smiling after going out into the woods with Zuko to 'discuss war strategies'." Aang grinned. I felt a blush overtake my face.

"So... you're not upset?" I asked.

"Why would I be upset?"

"Well, Zuko is a firebender..."

"I'm a firebender, too, Katara."

"I know, but... he-"

"Do you trust him?" Aang cocked his head to the side and looked at me sincerely, all forms of childish humor gone.

"Yes, I do." I was able to look him straight in the eye as I said it.

"Then I'm not worried." Relief spread like a wave over me and I smiled at Aang. He smiled back, and in that moment I realized something. He'd grown up a little, too. There _was _wisdom in that bald little head of his. For the second time that week, I felt a stirring of hope for the world.

To her credit, Meng didn't cry as she waved us goodbye, though her lower lip trembled a little and her dark eyes drooped.

"I'll be back by fall!" Aang's ever-hopeful voice called to her as we rose into the sky.

"Yip yip!" Aang flicked the reigns and Appa's great tail swung at the air, propelling us up into the clouds. I felt my heart jump a little. I'd not flown in almost a year, and the sensation made my stomach perform somersaults inside of me.

Zuko seemed to be experiencing the same effect. Although he managed to keep his usual stony, expressionless face, I could see his knuckles turn white as he gripped the edge of Appa's saddle and his face pale of its usual fiery glow. I so badly wanted to go to him and lean against him, lend him some silent comfort, but Sokka's eyes were flashing darkly across from us in the saddle, and I feared that even looking too long at Zuko would incite a fight.

And a fight was the last thing we wanted. Especially now, at who-knows-how-many feet in the sky. I sighed and tucked myself into a ball, trying to ward off the cold of the high atmosphere. I pulled my parka tighter around my shoulders, trying to trap what little body heat I had and keep it close to my skin. _Body heat._ I moaned inwardly, knowing that Zuko would have plenty to spare.

Curse Sokka!

I immediately relented of my thoughts. My brother could be maddening, but I loved him nonetheless, and at least he was holding his tongue and not fighting. Yet.

We arrived back at the mountain fortress sometime late that night. Zuko directed Aang on where to land Appa, and helped the earthbender rebels lead the great shaggy animal into a pen that had been built especially for him. Appa sat down with an exhausted 'huff' in the center of a mattress of hay.

"Poor Appa." Aang said, patting the beast's enormous head. Sokka joined him, hugging Appa and turning his back on where Zuko and I stood in the corner. I rolled my eyes.

"Are you the Avatar?" A seven-foot tall man addressed Aang. I saw a flicker of fear pass over the boy's face as he looked up at the burly earthbender that had suddenly appeared. The man's tree trunk-like arms were crossed in front of his barrel chest, and he looked imposingly down at the small boy.

"Y...yes." Aang straightened and tried to put on a brave face. I smiled. Aang had never met Okan, our head security guard, before. The big man took a little getting used to, but he was really as gentle as a kitten. This was demonstrated as the hulking figure bent into a low bow.

"It is an honor, Aang the Avatar, to have you visit our small army." A blush spread over Aang's face and he grinned and bowed his head modestly.

"Yeah, well, _Aang the Avatar_ is tired now. Where do we sleep?" Sokka grouched at the guard, who raised one eyebrow and turned to look at Zuko as if to ask "Would you like me to squash the insolent boy now, or wait for later?" Zuko shook his head and made a little dismissive gesture with his hand. Okan nodded at the hand signal and turned back to Aang, ignoring Sokka.

"I shall show you to your room, now, Master Avatar." The guard walked from the room, expecting Aang to follow, but the boy was more than a little intimidated, and looked back at me for reassurance.

"Don't worry, Aang, he'll take you to a nice room close to mine. Go get some rest." Satisfied, Aang turned and walked wearily away, his little shoulders slumped with exhaustion.

"I suppose I'm sleeping in the hay with Appa." Sokka grumbled. I sighed and walked forward to take Sokka's shoulder.

"No, Sokka, I wanted to take you to your room, myself." I smiled, hoping that the gesture might mend a little of the broken feeling between the two of us. It didn't.

"Here it is!" I said brightly as I pulled the door open. It was heavy, as all earthbender doors are, and took the last bit of my strength to open it.

"Wait. Where are _you _sleeping?" Sokka narrowed his eyes and looked suspiciously around.

"Don't worry, Sokka. I'll be close." I evaded.

"No, take me to your room first. I want to make sure that disgusting firebender isn't there waiting in the shadows for you once you close the door." Sokka gripped his boomerang. I felt anger well up inside of me. I was tired of Sokka's childishness, and I was not about to get into a shouting match about sharing a room with Zuko. Sokka would certainly take it the wrong way, though he would certainly know that I would never sully my virtue or honor in doing anything with Zuko beneath the covers other than sleeping. But, knowing Sokka, he'd blow up and demand to stand guard over me while I slept or something.

"Sokka, go to bed."

"Maybe I should stand watch outside your door..." Sokka mused, fingering his boomerang.

"IN!" I pushed my brother into his room and shut the door behind him. I tiptoed up the hallway until I saw a tall, masculine figure leaning against the wall ahead of me. I beckoned him with my hand, and walked quietly from the hall and into our room.

"I feel like a little girl that is sneaking out of school!" I laughed, letting myself fall against Zuko as soon as the door was shut. Zuko didn't laugh, but I could see the amusement in his eyes.

"You snuck out of school?"

I blinked. "Well, actually, no. But if I had, I think this is what it would feel like." Zuko laughed openly now, a low rumble, like a lion's throaty purr.

"Oh, and I suppose you skipped your lessons all the time?" I tossed my hair in a little flick of indifference.

"Actually, yes. You cannot comprehend the meaning of boredom until you've sat through Master Chong's readings of the laws of the Fire Nation." Zuko curled his lip in disgust.

"And what did you do with your freedom? I seem to remember a certain friend of your uncle's mentioning something about a young prince mooning a courtyard of his father's royal guests?" I teased. Zuko shifted uneasily.

"Why do you have to bring that up?" He frowned.

"Because I like seeing you blush." Zuko raised his eyebrow and came closer to me, so close to my face that I could feel his breath touch my lips and cheeks with the caress of a long-lost lover. The hunger lighted inside of me with a sudden, burning intensity.

"Let's see if I can do the same for you." Zuko said, his voice low and husky as he took my chin in his hand and lifted my face to meet his. The warmth of his breath spread over my lips, making them tingle in anticipation. I looked up into his golden eyes and found myself transfixed. The magic that could entrance a person to stare into a fire for lengths of time was the same magic that danced in his eyes now, pulling me closer, closer.

His arms wrapped around me, drawing me against his body and I went willingly, a happy captive in his gaze. Relief spread into my body like water spreading over sand as his familiar warmth soaked into my cool skin. Slowly we brought our faces closer together, nuzzling against each other before bringing our lips together into a gentle, soft kiss.

We stood like that for a long time, assuaging the hunger that had built over a week of hiding our affection. Finally, I broke away and laid my head on Zuko's chest, panting and listening to the steady, rapid _thrum thrum _of his heartbeat. Zuko ran his hands up my shoulders and tangled them in my hair, teasing my braid out and causing my hair to fall around my shoulders and down my back in long waves.

"Let's go to bed." Zuko said softly, leading me to the mattress, where I slipped between the course earthbender sheets. Oh, how dearly did I miss the soft furs I'd slept beneath at home! But, even though my warm bed and Gran-Gran and my village were far away, I wasn't so bad off here, was I? After all, if I'd never left home I never would have known Zuko.

The Prince crawled into bed beside me and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close as he buried his face in my hair. "I love you, Katara." He whispered. I closed my eyes and let peaceful happiness fill me inside.

_I hate this war. It's taken away so much that I love. But... even in the midst of all the death and pain... something beautiful manages to bloom. _

With that thought in my mind and his warm presence beside me, I drifted to sleep.

Zuko wasted no time the next morning in beginning the preparations for the end of summer.

"Katara. Come on. Wake up." I heard his voice in my ear, felt the warmth of his body leave my back and hover over me.

"Hmmphkrck." I said intelligently.

"Katara, I'm calling a war council to meet at sunrise. You want to be there, don't you?"

"Sunrise?" I moaned. "Why can't it be sunset, when normal people are awake?"

"We don't have time for that. Hurry." A coarse cloth landed on my face and I realized it was my tunic. I wanted to complain some more, but I realized two things: One, if I did, I would begin to sound as bad as Sokka; and two, Zuko was right. There was no time to waste. The end of summer was in only a couple of weeks, and if we were going to have any chance in defeating the Fire Lord, we would have to strike as soon as possible.

Reluctantly, I left the warm and blissful ignorance of sleep behind me as I pulled my tunic over my nightshift and prepared myself to meet the harsh realities of the day: war, strategy, armies, killing.

Zuko and I shared one last kiss before we parted to separately wake up Aang and Sokka.

"It's a simple matter of numbers, commander. One army of 1,000 mismatched benders simply will not be able to come against an army of 30,000 trained firebenders!" Okan said, frustration tinging the edge of his voice as he thrust his hand into his palm.

The war council had just begun. Fifteen of Zuko's bravest men were gathered along with me, Sokka, and Aang in the war room. In the flickering torchlight, the lines of worry and consternationetched into the men's brows were obvious.

"But we have the Avatar now! Certainly the battle will be on our side!" One of the leaders spoke, gesturing to Aang, who now looked at the many faces watching him with a kind of nervous apprehension. I could see the question written in the eyes of all fifteen men:

_This child is the avatar? This child is the one responsible for saving nations from destruction?_

I waited, knowing that at any minute one of them would speak up and voice doubt of Aang's abilities. But that moment was evaded as Zuko's voice broke the silence.

"No. We will not be able to defeat 30,000 men with only 1,000, even with the Av- Aang's help." Zuko looked up at me and I nodded my approval. Aang wasn't just the Avatar. He was a human being. Not a tool. A life.

"I don't understand, Commander. If you agree that the Fire Nation army is unbeatable, then why call a war council?" An older leader with a long, greying beard spoke up. Zuko was silent for a long time, and the room hushed, sensing that he was thinking. Finally, he spoke.

"Have you ever watched a school of fish?" Several eyes widened and eyebrows were raised as the men turned puzzled expressions on Zuko. "It does not matter how great a number they are, all follow the one that is in the lead." He paused, looking each man in the face as his words sunk in. "The same is true of the Fire Nation army. Yes, I agree that they cannot be defeated, not by numbers or by force. It is only through taking their leader that they will fall."

"By leader you mean..."

"I will challenge the Fire Lord Ozai to an Agni Kai. If I can defeat him, I will become Fire Lord by birthright. He will surrender his crown to me and I will then have control of the army."

Several men drew sharp intakes of breath. I closed my eyes. I'd known for a long time that Zuko was planning this, but now, in the harsh reality of the war room, the plan seemed more real, more frightening than before, when it had been nothing more than a secret plan whispered in the darkness.

"But, commander, the palace is heavily guarded and you are... an exile. You would be arrested before you are even able to sail into Fire Nation waters." The man looked uncomfortable bringing up the subject, but Zuko showed no signs of anger at the mentioning of his banishment.

"That is why we will need every last one of our 1,000 men. They must break through the barricades and subdue the palace guards so that I can challenge my father."

"What if you fail?" The leader's voice was so low that I could barely hear it. It sounded regretful, as if it pained the man to voice his question.

"If I fail, we will all die. Myself first, and then the rest of you." Zuko's words were ominous and dark, causing a shiver to crawl up my spine with sharp, spiny prickles. If I was afraid, I knew that Zuko must be ten times more so, though he didn't show it. His voice was steady as he continued.

"But if we do not do this, we will all die anyway. It may take longer, but who says a slow death is any less painful? Once the comet has come, the Fire Lord will be unstoppable, and we will be hunted down and killed, as will your families and your people." Zuko paused, taking a breath.

"This is the only way. I will defeat the Fire Lord. I must."


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

The smell of sweat and smoke and burnt earth and fire filled the training room. With the Firebenders and the Earthbenders both practicing together, the room had grown hot and dusty. We'd opened the vents as far as they would go, but it only barely took the edge off the stifling air.

The men practiced tirelessly. When they weren't practicing they were building boats to carry us to the Fire Nation capital. They were being built in the same inlet where I'd first helped the earthbenders win a battle against a Fire Nation attack. I smiled with nostalgia as I watched the process being carried out, standing on the same outlook I had, almost a year ago, on that day when I'd made a decision to stay, despite my chance to run away after the fireball knocked my guard out.

_What if I had run?_

_Where would I be now?_

_What if I had left Zuko, as I was tempted to do?_

I would have never known that a firebender's touch could be warm with love, not just anger. I would never have known the intimacy of true love. I would never have known how beautiful Zuko's eyes were when I looked past the pain that haunted them.

I would never have become a warrior, helping to lead a rebel earthbender army.

I wrapped my arms around myself and closed my eyes, listening to the sound of trees being felled along the inlet. The sturdy old trees would make strong boats, which would then be coated with a fireproof substance to help protect us from the fireballs that would surely come our way during battle.

It was risky, but thankfully we had a few waterbenders in the army now. Zuko had sent out our fastest messengers to the four corners of the earth to recruit soldiers before the great battle would take place, and had managed to attract a few small troops of surviving Water Tribe warriors. Of course, I had rushed to them when they had arrived, hoping that my father might be among their numbers. Sadly, not only was he not with them, but no one had any news of him, either.

Everyone had a job to do. Aang was mastering his bending and overseeing the training of the new recruits. I was put in charge of instructing the healers and new waterbending recruits in the ways of the army. Even Sokka had a job: the care and maintenance of the Komodo rhinos. I'd almost laughed out loud when I'd learned that this was the task Zuko had assigned him, but then had rebuked the prince. "You're not going to make friends with him that way, you know!"

But though everyone was worked to the bone, it was Zuko that pushed himself the hardest. I'd had to sleep without him for two nights in a row as he stayed up, planning strategies and marking our maps with lines of defense and attack positions. His eyes were red and rimmed with purple circles, and his shoulders sagged under the enormous weight of his task. It twisted my heart each time I saw him. He was so burdened. I wished there was something I could do to help him... some way I could lessen the strain.

But there was nothing I could do. I had my duties, and he had his. I could not help him plan war strategies any more than he could help me train the waterbenders, but... perhaps...

"Quick, go get Commander Zuko." I told Shing, the young messenger, as I stood outside the door of mine and Zuko's room. Shing bowed and hurried off in a cloud of dust kicked up behind his fast little feet. I watched him go and then turned and entered the room.

I let my robe fall from my shoulders and land in a heap at my feet, revealing a cascade of blue beneath it. I was wearing the dress I'd worn in the village the night I'd danced with Zuko. I lit a row of candles that bordered the room. I'd spent my entire lunch time going from room to room begging candles from any soldier that might have one. They were surprisingly hard to find among the earthbenders, though the firebenders always had one or two to spare.

I laid out the food in dishes on the floor. Cook had graciously allowed me to take out the most prized things from the larder: smoked fish, garden tubers and vegetables, fresh berries, and honey. He hadn't asked who it was for, he'd simply smiled at me and told me "I hope you can relax 'im. 'E's been workin' awful hard."

Relax him. That was exactly what I intended to do. The door was hurled open with a thick thudding sound and Zuko stood in front of it, panting and looking at me with eyes glazed with weariness but wide with concern for me. "The messenger told me it was an emergency." Zuko said. He wobbled a little bit and caught himself. He was so tired, and it echoed in every move he made.

"_Shing _told you exactly what I told him to tell you." I said, emphasizing the boy's name. I would break the Prince's habit of referring to people by their titles eventually.

"So there is no emergency? You called me in here for nothing?" Zuko yelled, fire dancing around his fingertips. "I was in the middle of-"

"When is the last time you ate?" I interrupted Zuko, my voice calm and soothing, as gentle as the swirling of water in a tidepool.

"Katara, I don't have time for games! We only have-"

"Or slept? When was the last time you've slept?" I interrupted him again, ignoring the anger flashing in his eyes and the smoke that was wisping around his palms.

"I can't believe that you would be so foolish to-" He evaded, his voice rising.

"Foolish? Well, I may be foolish, Prince Zuko, but at least I'm not _weakened._" That was the magic word. Zuko stopped shouting and looked at me in confusion and fury.

"How dare you call me weak!"

"I didn't call you weak. I called you weakened. It's what happens to anyone who doesn't sleep or eat a solid meal for days in a row." I raised my chin defiantly, staring into his blazing gold eyes, daring him.

"I am not weakened, I am-"

Before he could say another word I was up and across the room. Just as I suspected, his reaction time was delayed, giving me enough time to grab his shoulders and flip him over my hip and onto the floor. He landed with a thud and immediately tried to stand, but I threw myself over him, straddling his waist and putting as much body weight as I could spare on pinning his wrists to the ground.

He growled in frustration and pushed against me. His wrists heated up, but I didn't let go. I knew Zuko would never hurt me with firebending, even if I _was _being an insolent little water peasant.

"See? Defiantly weakened." I smiled at him triumphantly and bounced a little on his stomach to emphasize my point. He growled at me again and narrowed his eyes. I knew I was on dangerous ground, but I'd learned long ago how to tread carefully on such ground, and his threatening glares no longer frightened me.

"What's your point?" He asked in a low, sharp voice.

"My point, Zuko, is that you will not be able to fight a war if you are so exhausted you can't even put up a descent fight against one waterbender girl."

"And this is helping? Get off!" Zuko squirmed beneath me, but his attempt was a little more half-hearted than last time. I smiled inwardly. _Good, all is going as I planned._

"Nope. Now, you can either cooperate, or I can call Sokka in here and tell him you're trying to take advantage of me."

"I don't think he'll believe that story while you're on top of me." Zuko smirked at me.

"Oh really? Would you like to test that?" Zuko's smirk fell. He knew my brother well enough by now...

"Now," I continued, taking his silence for an agreement to cooperate, "since you will not feed yourself, I suppose the duty falls to me." Like a rebellious child, Zuko narrowed his eyes and closed his mouth. I sighed. Everything had to be so _difficult!_

I reached into one of the dishes and dipped my finger in a well of honey. I brought it to his mouth and smeared it over his tightly-shut lips. He smirked at me arrogantly, as if to say 'if you think you're going to get me to open my mouth just be doing that, you're an idiot.' But I had a smirk of my own on.

Leaning forward I began to kiss and suck the honey off of his lips. Zuko moaned. He might be able to resist food, but he was not able to resist me, and his mouth opened obediently to receive my kisses.

We finished the entire dinner together, feeding each other with our fingertips. I saw Zuko's strength return to him somewhat as his cheeks regained their color and his eyes brightened. I knew that his muscles must be regaining their strength, as well, but Zuko did not push me off of him. In fact, he seemed to be quite enjoying it.

"Feeling better?" I murmured, placing my cool hand against his warm cheek. He smiled, a breathtaking, genuine smile as he raised his hand to place it over mine.

"As long as you are with me." At that moment I loved him so much it hurt. I traced the edge of his face with my hand, delighting in the beautiful smile that I'd so rarely gotten to see. It had taken so long for him to let go of enough pain to allow himself the simple pleasure. And now, in only a few days, I would risk losing him.

"What's wrong?" Confusion and worry flickered behind Zuko's amber eyes.

"I don't want you to fight him, Zuko." I whispered. I shut my eyes, willing away the sadness that was building in my chest. I heard Zuko sigh beneath me, felt his chest rise and his arms wrap around my shoulders, bringing me down next to him on the floor.

"I have to, Katara." He whispered into my hair.

"I don't want him to take me away from you." I whimpered. I knew I sounded like a child, but I couldn't help it. I felt as powerless and helpless as when I'd watched my father sail away to fight the Fire Nation. He'd never returned.

"I won't let him take me from you, Katara." Zuko spoke my name with soft tenderness. He pulled away far enough to look me in the eyes.

"I have been unhappy my entire life. I had not known a day when I was at peace, or felt safe, or knew I was... loved." Zuko paused and brushed hair from my face as he stared into my eyes. "I have just found that, and more. I will not give it all up so easily without a fight." I saw the truth burn like fire in his eyes.

"I know." I said, wrapping my arms around him and placing my head against my chest. We laid like that, giving each other strength with the simple closeness of our bodies. Finally, I heard Zuko's breathing slow and deepen in sleep. I smiled, closing my own eyes as slumber took me away, too.

"Commander! Miss Katara!" I found myself looking up into the panicked eyes of Shing. His face was dripping sweat, and his limbs trembled.

"What is it, Shing?" Zuko was already on his feet. I struggled up, a little stiff from sleeping on the ground, and took a look outside the window. The sun had already risen! I would have laughed at the irony of Zuko sleeping past sunrise had Shing's desperate stammering not sobered me.

"The boats, sir! They're burning the boats!" Shing hopped from foot to foot, as if he were still running.

"Who is burning the boats?" Zuko pulled on his tunic as he questioned Shing.

"The Fire Nation! They came by ship this morning, as if they knew right were the boats were being built."

"A spy." I whispered, already fully dressed and helping Zuko with his breastplate.

"I should have prepared for this." Zuko berated himself.

"I don't think you could have prepared yourself for _this _sir. They're led by a demon-woman that managed to take out five men with one punch." Shing's eyes widened as he told of what had happened.

"Are the men assembled?" Zuko barked at Shing.

"Yes, sir."

"And the Avatar?"

"He has gone to saddle the hairy beast."

"Then let's go."

It took an eternity to reach the inlet. An eternity where each heartbeat was a painful question.

_Will we get there in time to save the boats?_

Each breath was a condemnation.

_We should have known!_

Each footstep was an admonition.

_Hurry! Hurry! _

The sky was clouded with thick black smoke and tasted of ash. I coughed and tied a strip of cloth over my face, trying to block out the smell of burning wood. When we finally reached the bank of the inlet, our worst fears were confirmed.

Firebenders were swarming over the boats, burning them with deadly skill. The earthbender rebels rushed forward with a thunderous war cry, sending dust and earth flying in front of them.

But we were not prepared. We'd not had time to plan a counter-attack, and our force was disorganized, confused, and barely awake in the emerging sunrise. Sunrise. _I rise with the sun. _Zuko's words came to me distantly from memory. The firebenders would be strongest now.

As if to prove my point, the firebenders came at us, shrieking their blood-curdling war cry as they erected a wall of flames that advanced on the earthbenders. I uncapped my canteen and got ready. This was going to be messy.

We fought all morning. Everywhere there was dust and sweat and blood and fire. I wanted to cover my ears against the screams of the dying, the fighting, the wounded, but if I did I wouldn't have use of my hands to bend away the attacks. I fought for a long time before I'd finally used up my canteen. _I'll have to run down to the inlet to refill it._

The inlet! A plan bloomed in my mind. Quickly, I ran through the midst of the battle, pulling away as many waterbenders as I could. The followed me down the bank to the water.

"You, Aiko! There! Siga, there! Mako, go up the bank further!" I coordinated them as quickly as I could, though each moment seemed to take forever. Finally, with everyone in place, I raised my hands. A wave surged and built over our heads as the other benders added their strength. The water rushed and foamed, roaring with a fury of its own.

"NOW!" I screamed, throwing my arms toward the middle of the battle. The wave raced forward, devouring the ground in front of it with a speed that would rival Aang's. It crashed on the shore, sending up a soaking spray and swirling around the legs of the fighters.

They were all soaked. But it wouldn't last long. Already steam was rising from the forms of the firebenders. But the earthbenders knew their opportunity when they saw it. They lashed out with earth and rock and mud, taking out ten firebenders for every earthbender.

_Good, if we can just keep this up for a while, we may win. _I raised my arms, signaling to the other waterbenders to begin again.

"Well, aren't you a clever little water peasant." A sharp, hissing voice sounded behind me. So much malice and evil tainted the voice that I felt I'd been poisoned just hearing it. I whirled and found myself staring into the deep golden eyes of a firebending woman. I recognized the eyes immediately. She'd been the one that had led the attack that killed Teikei. I felt anger rise in me and I brought my arm up in a lightening-quick water-whip.

But I'd not been prepared for the skill this woman possessed. She dissipated the whip and turned her own attack on me so fast that my head spun and I found myself thrown back into the water. My clothes hissed as the water put out the flames she'd ignited on the cloth. I grit my teeth, biting back the pain of the burns and gathered water in my palm, freezing it and whirling it at her in shards of ice.

With one swipe of her palm the ice had melted into harmless water droplets, which hissed into steam in a deathly halo around her. She advanced on me, an evil smirk stuck to her face as she raised her arms and brought them down, bringing with them a wall of fire that heated up the air so fast I could smell my bangs being singed. I threw up a wall of water just in time to save myself from being consumed.

She attacked again, driving me further into the water. _What's wrong with you, Katara? You're a master waterbender, and you're surrounded by your element! You should be able to beat her! _But whether I should have been or not was not an issue. The woman fought as if my attacks were no more bothersome than a cool breeze on a summer's day.

I gathered my strength and hurled another attack at her, screaming a roar of fury, but the water disappeared as soon as it stuck her flame, hissing into steam. She laughed, a taunting, malicious laugh that filled my ears and drowned out the sounds of fighting behind me. She threw a fire attack at me so fast that I could not block it. I was thrown into the water with such force that my breath was knocked from my lungs. Coughing and chocking on my own element as I tried to stand and breathe, I caught her giving me a disdainful look.

"You're not worth my time." She sneered, melting into the battle around her after she threw one last attack at me, almost carelessly, over her shoulder. It should have killed me, but I had the quickness of mind to freeze the water on my skin, giving me a shield of protection that saved me from my death.

I got to my feet, trembling with exhaustion. I took in deep gasping breaths of air and looked around me. The horror of the battle struck me. We were outnumbered and outmaneuvered. I watched the earthbenders fall back steadily as the firebenders wreaked a bloody onslaught on our ranks.

"Katara!" It was Okan. He was bloody and covered in mud and ashes. "Commander Zuko wants you at his side!" He grabbed my arm and, before I could protest, brought be before Zuko.

"Katara, I want you to take the wounded into the woods and tend to them there." Zuko said as he blocked a firebending attack with his own flames.

"But the battle is still going on!" I argued.

"Exactly. I don't want you in the middle of it. Do as I say." He shouted, throwing himself into an attack that disabled the soldier in front of him. Zuko turned to face me, his skin glowed with the heat of battle and his eyes flashed angrily.

"I will not leave you to fight alone!" I said, crossing my arms. Zuko looked about to argue with me when suddenly his eyes shifted and his face paled. I whirled around to look at what had caught his attention, and found myself locked in the same state of shock.

There, shrouded in the smoke and dust kicked up in battle, was another fleet of Fire Navy ships. They had just landed on the beach, and were unloading several troops of soldiers onto the banks.

"No..." I whispered. The battle was lost. We could not face that many soldiers. Our battle against Ozai was over before it had begun. Shock and horror froze my body. I could not fight, I could not scream, I could only watch as the firebenders marched up the beach and began their slaughter.

Only... the slaughter never came.

The firebenders turned their force on their own people. Anyone not wearing the earthbender green was singled out and incinerated with deadly accuracy. In a few moments, the tide of the battle had turned. Slowly but surely the enemy soldiers were pushed back, and soon their heels were cooled in the waters of the inlet. I heard a sharp command being given, and suddenly the enemy firebenders turned and ran for their ships.

It was a retreat. We had won. I turned to face Zuko, and saw that his face mirrored the amazement I felt.

"We won." I whispered, throwing my arms around his shoulders. The act caught us both off balance, and we sank to our knees in the dust.

Suddenly, I heard marching behind me, and turned to see that the mysterious firebenders were climbing up the bank. Dust and smoke still filled the air, obscuring their faces, which were hidden behind their faceplates anyway. All except for one. I felt Zuko jump beside me, his whole body wrenching in surprise. I heard him utter a single word.

"...Uncle."

**Ahh, the moment most of you have been waiting for!** **Thank you all for your incredible reviews! You all are so encouraging. Your reviews have made me laugh, squeee, bounce excitedly, and even tear up. Thank you all!**


	31. Chapter 31

_Wow, I just realized something, everyone: has been taking out my dividers! So, I invented some new dividers that they wouldn't take out. They look like this: OOOOOOOOOOOOO. I've been taught by publishers to put three asterisks to denote dividing, but they won't allow it here. Oh well. I hope this clears up some of the confusion you may have felt while reading, or a sense of choppiness, as dividers denote a lapse in time, or a change in location that sometimes goes unspoken in the actual story._

**Chapter 31**

The tea felt good going down. I hadn't had tea in a long, long time, but the kindly old man had insisted. The kindly old man, it turned out, was Zuko's uncle and the savior of the battle that morning. He sat across from us now, a wide smile on his pleasant, wrinkled face.

"So, how did you know where to find us?" Zuko asked. I noticed that he pointedly avoided the tea.

Iroh leaned back on his cushion on the floor and stared up at the ceiling, gathering his thoughts. "Well, after your mysterious disappearance, nephew, I combed the woods looking for you. I spent a week picking through brambles and stumbling over vines, only to find that you'd somehow vanished, leaving only a pile of bloodied armor." Distantly, through a haze of fuzzy memories, I remembered Aang and Sokka removing Zuko's armor as we carried him back to the cave.

"So..." Iroh sighed, "I brought the armor back to your father." There was a pause as Iroh took a breath, his eyes shifting as he seemed to search for words.

"I heard there was a celebration." Zuko said bitterly, staring at the tea cup as if it held all the pain he'd ever experienced in his life instead of just tea. Iroh sighed and rubbed his forehead with his fingertips.

"It's not like that, Prince Zuko... It wasn't a celebration-"

"Call it whatever you like, Uncle. My father was glad I was gone." A look of agonized pain crossed over Iroh's face as he looked at his nephew. The old man looked as if he'd been physically struck.

"Nephew..." Iroh began, but Zuko raised a hand, his eyes closing as he spoke softly.

"It's okay, Uncle. Please, continue."

"I stayed at the palace. Since everyone believed you to be dead, I was not considered a threat, just a doddering old man with nothing better than to drink tea and play games under a sunny window." Iroh's eyes glinted mischievously. "But it's amazing what a man can learn when he sips tea and plays games while listening to the conversations of gossiping generals and commanders."

Iroh then lifted one eyebrow as he continued. "I soon began hearing some incredible stories. Stories of an unstoppable earthbending army that appeared and vanished like smoke in the night. Some said it was led by a demon that could spew fire. Some said it was a strange dragon that could scream like a man. Other claimed it was a witch with seven snakes for arms that could snatch the fire right from their palms." At this point Iroh glanced at me. I smiled a little and blushed, realizing the weight of what he'd just said.

I was a legend.

"Naturally, this piked my interest. Unfortunately, it did the same for your sister." Iroh's face lost its mirthful expression. I looked over to Zuko, and saw that a dark look had settled in his eyes, too. I leaned back, feeling suddenly left out. There was so much that I didn't know, although by the looks on both men's faces, I probably didn't want to know.

"I traveled about for a time, visiting all the towns and villages along the border of earthbender territory. Sadly, I was unable to find anything of great help." Iroh looked at his feet, as if apologizing to them for the long roads he'd had to travel.

"But then I came to one small town...what was it's name?" Iroh thought for a moment. "Well, I can't remember the name of the town, but there was a woman there who offered me the most delicious soup, as well as a bit of information. Kindly lady, had very nice cushions."

_Wait... soup, cushions, little town..._ "Heishing!" I cried out in sudden revelation.

"Bless you." Iroh said, handing me his handkerchief. Before I could correct him, he continued.

"She recalled meeting a certain young waterbender who was far from home... as well as a... what were the words she used? Ah yes, a 'moody, golden-eyed firebender boy with a crush on the waterbender as plain as the scar on his face.'" Iroh looked at Zuko triumphantly. Zuko blushed a little, but turned his face quickly away from his Uncle. The old man was sharp though, and I could tell from the smile on his face that he'd caught the reddening of his nephew's cheeks.

"I have yet to see how this led you to our door, and at the same time Zula attacked." Zuko said hastily.

"It didn't. But it did give me hope. With every snippet of rumor I heard about the earthbender army and its strange leader, I became more and more determined to do something." Iroh took a long sip of his tea, drawing out the suspense. Zuko sighed in annoyance, but I grinned. I could see that the old man was purposely taunting Zuko.

"What did you do?" I finally asked.

"I started talking to people. You'd be amazed how many Fire Nation men are tired of this cursed war, and how many are willing to admit it to a sympathetic ear, given enough time and ginseng tea." Iroh leaned back, looking pleased with himself. "And, strangely enough, pretty soon soldiers and officers began to disappear, seemingly into thin air, never to be seen or heard from again." Iroh grinned.

"I had hoped to gather more, for more were surely willing. But, through the ears I'd placed in the palace, word got back to me that your sister was moving, having gotten a report from one of her spies, and was planning an attack on your fortress. I rounded the men up and followed her from a safe distance away. And that is how I came to be here." Iroh finished.

"But you have many men with you, not to mention three Fire Navy ships! Didn't my father notice so many defectors?" Zuko asked.

"A mere two thousand out of thirty thousand was of no great consequence to your father, who was too busy to notice anyway, with grooming your sister for..." Iroh's voice dropped and I saw the pained expression again. Zuko turned away, as if physically wounded from the last sentence and the bitter implications that went with it.

"The crown." Zuko said softly. "He intends to give it to her on her birthday, doesn't he?" Iroh's shoulders slumped as he nodded.

"I fear... nephew. I fear that if she takes the crown..." Iroh did not finish his sentence, but the weight of the darkness that had descended onto the room spoke with more power than a thousand words could ever express.

"Then we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen, won't we?" Zuko smirked and played with a flame on the edge of his palm.

"How are you planning that?" Iroh asked. Zuko quickly outlined our plan of attack, and I watched as Iroh's eyes widened with surprise and admiration.

"That is very good, nephew. And to think, you planned it out without a bit of help from me." Iroh said, a small chuckle barely hiding the disappointment in his voice. Zuko noticed his Uncle's expression, and his eyebrow furrowed.

"Uncle, it was your teachings that I relied on while I was planning the attack." Zuko protested. Iroh peered through hooded eyelids at Zuko skeptically.

"You know, I _was_ listening to your lectures. Whether I acted like I was or not." Zuko admitted reluctantly. The old man's face dissolved into a sea of wrinkles around a wide, wide smile.

"Ah! So you were listening to my proverbs after all! I must get out my books of wisdom and brush up on them, now that I know you are willing to hear them!"

At that, Zuko laughed out loud, his mouth dropping its signature smirk and widening into one of his beautiful, genuine smiles. I smiled with him. However, a quick glance in Iroh's direction surprised me. He was not smiling.

"Zu- Zuko," He stammered. "I have not heard you laugh since... since..." I saw tears shimmer in his eyes and his chin quiver a little, but the old man did not turn his face to hide his emotion, only continued to stare at his nephew, as if Zuko had sprouted wings. He shook his head in disbelief.

"Commander, I am deeply sorry to interrupt, but your judgement is needed in the hiding of Retired General Iroh's fleet of ships." Zuko nodded at the guard who had stepped into the room as got up from his seat.

"Excuse me, Uncle. Katara, will you show Uncle Iroh to his room?" He put his hand out to help me up. Though I didn't need the help, I accepted it, just to feel the warmth of his hand against my skin and the familiar tingling of electricity that always thrummed through our veins when we touched.

"Of course, Zuko." I said, smiling and capturing his eyes in mine. I wanted to kiss him, and ordinarily we would have, but with his Uncle sitting so close by that it would have made for an awkward situation. So, we tried our best to content ourselves with a brief glance.

Zuko's hand left mine with much reluctance and he headed out the door. I watched him leave, admiring the view from behind.

_Mmmm, yes, a very nice behind... so tight and..._

I blushed when I realized I'd been thinking these thoughts in the presence of his Uncle. And I suspected the old man had some strange mind-reading powers, for when I turned to him he was beaming with a mischievous, knowing smile.

I blushed and rubbed my hands on my tunic, feeling suddenly guilty and slightly paranoid.

"Shall I take you to your room now?" I asked, hoping to hide the uneasiness in my voice.

"Yes, yes, please. These old bones get tired much faster than they used to." He wearily got to his feet as I helped him up.

It was a long way through the mountain fortress from the war room to the bedrooms, and the old man walked slowly. I tried to think of things to fill the silence. We talked of the best ways to prepare a good pot of tea, and of the critical importance of a lotus tile in a game, and of how beautiful the Earth Kingdom looked in summer. But soon our conversation turned to darker things. To the war and to battle and to the coming struggle. Finally, we arrived at his room.

"Here you are, General Iroh." I said, opening the great door. Iroh turned to me and smiled.

"Thank you, Katara. I wish you a good night. And don't worry about the war! You have nothing to fear." He smiled at me.

I shook my head. "I wish I could be as sure as you are. Fire Lord Ozai's army is so strong..."

"Ah, but there are things in this life that are even stronger than wars and armies." Iroh said, his eyes meeting mine and speaking of a hidden truth behind his words.

"Oh? And what is that?" I smiled, knowing in my heart the meaning of his unspoken wisdom.

"I think you know, Katara. I think you and Zuko both know." With that the old man turned and walked into his room, closing the door behind him.

I turned also, heading for my room to wait for Zuko to come back so I could give him a massage and he could lull me to sleep with his warmth. As I was leaving, though, I could hear the old man speak from behind the door. The walls and door were thick, preventing me from hearing what Iroh was saying, but I did manage to catch delighted giggling along with one word...

"Grandchildren"

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

I pulled off the scratchy earthbender tunic and slipped on my robe as I headed for bed. I turned down the cover and slipped between the sheets, shivering in the coolness. Though it was late summer, the fortress was underground and stayed very cool. I waited, but Zuko didn't come.

Finally I threw the covers off and decided to go looking for him. Taking torch in my hand I began to pad down the long, dusty halls. Most of the soldiers were already asleep, and I could hear the muffled sounds of their snoring behind the heavy doors.

I followed the hallway to the rhino pens, through the kitchen, around the war chambers, all the way to the secret exit of the mountain labyrinth. There, in the cool air, I heard Zuko's voice. He was dismissing the last of the soldiers, sending some to take up guard around the perimeter of the fortress, as always, and some to their beds. When the soldiers had departed, I began to walk forward to meet Zuko. That is, until another voice stopped me.

"Why are you doing this?" The voice was young, male, familiar. Sokka! What was he doing?

"Excuse me?" Zuko's voice was cautious, but far from backing down. I peered in the darkness, trying to make out their shapes, but night shrouded them.

"What are you going to get out of this? You think you're going to be some big hero? You think everyone is going to like you now? Pretend that Fire Nation didn't destroy their homes and families?" Sokka's voice was acerbic. Oh no. I prayed that Zuko would keep his temper.

"There are grievances to be forgiven on both sides, Sokka. It will take many years for the nations to heal." Zuko said. _Thank you, Zuko. _I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Heal." Sokka snorted. "And they'll have a chance to heal with you on the throne? Why should I believe you'll be any better than Fire Lord Ozai?"

"Well, let's see. For one, Ozai would have turned you into crispy peasant toast by now for speaking so disrespectfully, but I've managed to keep my temper in check." I smiled in the darkness at Zuko's words. "And two, I'm risking my life, remember? I could just capture Aang and bring him to the Fire Lord. I'd be in his good favor and I wouldn't have to fight him. That's a safer route for me, don't you think?"

"Then why don't you take it?" Sokka asked. I realized suddenly that Sokka wasn't picking a fight with Zuko. He was testing him. It was a dangerous game. So very dangerous. But my fears relaxed a little when I heard Zuko speak softly, with great tenderness.

"If I do, I will lose everything that matters to me." I knew what the _everything _was that he spoke of, and my heart tingled with warmth.

"It sounds like you lose something either way." Sokka said in a skeptical tone.

"But if I chose this way, I have a chance to regain the honor of the Fire Nation." Zuko's tone was low, firm, determined. There was silence for some while, and when Sokka spoke again, his voice had lost some of its accusatory edge, curiosity replacing its reproach.

"What do you mean?"

I heard Zuko sigh. "It is in our nature to be aggressive, dominating, fierce. But, whether you are willing to admit it or not, the firebenders posses good qualities too. The Fire Nation was once known for its honor, and its people for their creativity, passion, and grace. Unfortunately, my father has ensured that we are only known for our destruction." Zuko paused, letting silence fall around us like a shroud.

"I am tired of this war, Sokka, just as tired as you are. I bear scars that I do not want my children to ever have to bear. I want them to grow up knowing peace." A little jolt of surprise and happiness filled me. Children? Zuko wanted children? A smile and a blush adorned my face in the darkness.

"I... I didn't expect to hear... I mean, I thought firebenders-"

"Were cruel, heartless monsters?" Zuko's voice held a laughing quality to it.

"Well, yeah."

"I hope you learn to let go of your misconceptions, Sokka. Good night." I heard Zuko's footsteps draw closer to where I stood by the door. I realized, with a blush of shame, that I'd been eavesdropping. I pulled away and ran back to our room.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

I was waiting under the covers for Zuko when he came back. I gave him a soft, happy smile. "I heard what you said to Sokka." I admitted. Zuko frowned at me and growled.

"I suppose your primitive people don't teach their children not to eavesdrop."

"Oh, they do, but those rules don't apply when dealing with spoiled princes." I snipped back at him.

"Hmm. In the Fire Nation, you could have had your hands cut off for listening in on a secret conversation given by royalty." He stripped off his shirt and climbed into the bed.

"I'm not afraid of you." I said boldly, giving Zuko a teasing, daring smile. He crawled forward and wrapped his long, masculine fingers around my wrists as he straddled me.

"Maybe I need to teach you how to respect a Prince of the Fire Lands." He said in a sultry voice, his mouth close to my ear.

"Really? How would one go about doing that?" I asked breathlessly.

"First, I'll teach you to obey me." He said, his voice dropping into a throaty rumble. It sent shivers up my body.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Kiss me."

I was more than happy to oblige.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Zuko's body had grown hot with passion by the time I pushed him off of me. I didn't want to. I longed for him, yearned for his touch not only on my lips and arms and shoulders, but everywhere. I wanted to keep kissing, to see where our passion would take us, given the time and encouragement. I wanted to.

But didn't. It would bring dishonor upon myself and my family to come together with the Prince before we'd been wedded in a traditional ceremony. And now was not the time to bring a child into the world, anyway, not with the war upon us and death surrounding us. So, with much reluctance, I rolled off of bed and began massaging Zuko's shoulders, comforting his frustrated body with my touch as I tried to focus on things other than what my body was begging me to do.

"You fought well today." I said.

"As did you." Zuko sighed, relaxing into my kneading fingers. I smiled at first, but then my smile fell.

"No, I didn't."

"What do you mean?" Zuko twisted so that he was looking into my face. Puzzlement hovered over his brow. I dropped my eyes into my lap in shame.

"I... faced someone today. I was not able to beat her. I... I was so weak compared to her!" I said. "I've never faced anyone like her before. She was even faster than Master Paku! And the way she looked at me! As if I were the most vile, pathetic thing she'd ever seen!"

"What did she look like?" Zuko's voice was low.

"She was... about my age, I think. Golden eyes, of course. Longish hair tied up in some sort of bun. She gave commands to the men, too. She wasn't that girl you were talking about, was she? She wasn't-"

"Zula." Zuko sighed. "Yes, Katara. You fought my sister."

Sudden realization hit me like a wave. No wonder Zuko was so concerned about keeping the crown off of her head. If she became Fire Lord... a little shudder ran through me as I remembered her malicious, wicked stare.

"Don't feel bad, Katara. I was never able to beat her, either." He grinned a little at me.

"But I should have! I was surrounded by my element, after all. She was just so fast, Zuko! I felt like I was moving in jelly compared to her."

"She is a bending prodigy." Zuko said with a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Just stay away from her. Whatever you do, don't challenge her to a fight." He smirked and rubbed his forearm. "She broke my wrist twice when I was younger."

I cringed and felt an enormous hate well up inside of me for the woman. I took the offended wrist in my hands and stroked it, pulling Zuko up into bed with me, figuring he'd had enough time to cool down.

With a wave of his hand the candles in the room dimmed and then went out. I snuggled into his embrace, enjoying the feeling of his arms around me, the steady rhythm of his chest rising and falling as he breathed, the warmth that emanated from his body. I focused on the feeling, trying my best to ignore the reality that in just three days we would be setting out for the Fire Nation.

In just three days, the fate of the world...

...would be decided.

**I know, my beloved readers, I know that this chapter was mostly dialogue and character development, but it really really needed to be done. I needed to explain some things, and develop Sokka's character. I hope I didn't bore you too much. Don't worry... next chapter:**

**THE REBELLION BEGINS.**

**See ya there?**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

**Three days later.**

The morning blew a stiff breeze into my hair and I was glad I'd put it up into my traditional braid. The sea spray felt cool and refreshing on my face as I bent over the railing of the Fire Navy ship, letting the fine mist cover my face with thousands of tiny diamonds. I closed my eyes and let my mind wander. I could imagine myself as a little girl again, going for a ride on my father's boat when he went seal hunting. How I used to love watching the fish dance in the crystal water beneath the prow!

I opened my eyes, half expecting to see silver fish dancing below my feet and my father's smiling face watching me in amusement. I felt a sting of disappointment when I looked down and instead saw the cold metal of the Fire Nation ship and the empty, fathomless water of the open ocean.

But all disappointment vanishedwhen I turned my head and caught Zuko leaning against the railing, staring at me with fiery golden eyes. There was an intensity in his gaze and a tenseness in his posture that suggested he was more than just admiring the sunrise.

"Beautiful morning, isn't it?" I asked him casually. He didn't reply, only walked forward, ever so slowly, until he was standing behind me. Our body heat mingled as I felt his hands land lightly on my lower back, tracing ribbons of electric fire as they slid around to rest on my stomach. His biceps flexed a little as he brought me against his front. I rested against him. I could feel his chest rise and fall in rhythmic breaths, his stomach muscles rippling deliciously as they adjusted to support my weight.

His hand came up to brush away wayward strands of hair that had fallen out of my braid to cling to my neck. "That's better." He murmured, his lips brushing my ear and then trailing down to place kisses on the soft, tender skin of my neck. My heart pounded just as wildly as it had the first day we'd kissed. I closed my eyes, moaning softly, and was rewarded with kisses that burned with a tingling, pleasurable fire as they alighted on my throat.

Suddenly, I heard the soft sound of scuffling on the deck of the ship. I looked up to see an earthbending soldier making his way across the deck with a mop and a bucket of dirty, sloshing water. I gently tried to squirm out of Zuko's grasp.

"It's okay, I'm sure the earthbenders have seen us kiss before." Zuko protested.

"But Sokka hasn't." I looked around, hoping my brother hadn't caught the little love scene. Sokka had become much more civil towards Zuko after the little talk they'd had, but by civil I just mean that Sokka wasn't stroking the blade of his boomerang and glaring at Zuko's back maliciously every time Zuko walked past. Sokka may have grown in respect for Zuko as a person and as a warrior, but not for Zuko as my lover. I sighed and pushed fully away.

"He's going to have to accept it sooner or later." Zuko growled impatiently.

"Yes... but it's going to take time."

"I can speed that process..." Zuko smirked while wisps of smoke curled around his wrists.

"Zuko, stop it." I chided him. "Sokka's my brother, and he may be the only family I have left by the time this stupid war is over." I cast a bitter glance at the sea ahead of our ship.Zuko relented and backed off, the annoyance draining from his face as he looked at me.

"I'm sorry." He said softly. I blinked. Had I heard right? Was that an apology from Zuko? _Prince Zuko? _

"You're lucky to have someone in your family that cares about you so much." Zuko said, staring out at the horizon, which by now was losing the pink tinge it had carried at sunrise. With sudden clarity I realized why Zuko had such a hard time understanding mine and Sokka's relationship. I'd heard enough about Zula and the rest of Zuko's family to know that there was no love lost between any of them. But especially toward Zuko.

Just as I couldn't imagine what it would be like to have a family that didn't care whether you lived or died, and only loved you if you were strong or cruel or powerful enough, neither could Zuko understand Sokka's loving protection of me.

_It will just take time... _I thought to myself as I walked away. _It will just take time._

O.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.O

I spent the rest of the morning assembling the waterbenders and going over the plans of attack with them. We would be arriving in Fire Nation waters by the next night, and I wanted to be sure everyone was clear on the battle strategy. But I needn't have worried. The waterbenders had been paying attention over the past several weeks of training, and knew their positions as if they were performing a dance they'd practiced since they were children. My mind put to rest, all I had to do now was wait: Wait for the ships to bring us to the Fire Nation's doors. Wait for tomorrow's moon to cast its glow on the blood that would redden the waters.

That was the problem with war. The waiting. I leaned against the rail of the ship and watched the men deal with their anxieties in whatever way they thought best. Most of the waterbenders were staring into the sea, collecting strength from their native element and meditating, calming their spirits and making peace within themselves.

The firebenders, on the other hand, were practicing with such energy as I'd never seen before. I watched them spew flames into the sky, the fiery comets arcing over the ship and blazing against the sun, twisting and turning in a deathly dance. _So powerful!_ _It must be nerves. _I thought to myself. It was amazing how something so beautiful could be used to butcher, maim, burn, kill. I looked down at my hands. Healers would be desperately needed once this war was over.

I continued to stare at my hands, wondering how many burns I would have to heal, how many bruises I'd have to mend, how many bones I'd have to... I shut my eyes. I didn't know how to fix bones. Or tend to injuries deep inside. Or heal scars. I cursed myself silently. Why hadn't I listened closer to the healer instead of rushing off to learn how to fight? There were enough fighters in this world. What the world really needed were the gentle, quiet souls like Gran-Gran and the healer woman, people of peace.

I breathed a long, calming breath, still focusing on my hands. As I traced the lines of my palm, I suddenly noticed a dull pink scar. Dimly, I could remember walking down the hallways of the earthbender fortress a few days ago, running my palm along the wall as I went. I remembered a sharp pain slicing into my skin, and looking down to see a tiny rock embedded there. I'd taken it out and was going to heal it, but there was no water nearby and I'd eventually forgotten about it. After all, it was just a little cut. And a little scar...

A plan began to form in my mind. Maybe I could teach myself to heal bones and inside injuries, starting with something easy, like this little scar. I'd taught myself waterbending, hadn't I? Surely this couldn't be much different.

I waterbended a thin stream from the ocean below, bringing it up to settle in my palm in a brilliant blue ball. I focused on the sphere, making it shift and flatten to cover the old wound, its energy tingling against my palm. I slid to the floor to better concentrate.

I focused on the scar. Nothing happened. I imagined the scar healing. Going away. Disappearing. Melting. Vanishing... anything! But still nothing happened. I blew out a sigh of frustration and let my mind relax for a while.

I tried again, focusing on the edges of the scar this time instead of the whole thing. After all, when I'd first started water bending, I could only bend tiny raindrops, not whips and waves like I was capable of doing now.

I calmed myself inside. The first healing I'd done on myself had been when Aang had burned me. I'd desperately needed healing then, as the wounds had been fresh and painful. But this little scar had already healed, in a way. But not quite fully. Not quite right. It still hurt a little. I focused on the barely-perceptible pain, reminding the water that it was a wound. Finally, I felt my skin begin to tingle around the scar. I focused harder, squeezing my eyes shut and breathing in short, shallow gasps.

I could feel my body begin to tremble as I sat there, tense and straining. Perspiration began to form on my forehead, but I didn't stop. If I could learn to master this little scar, I could learn how to heal bones! And then maybe I could learn how to heal injuries inside. Maybe I would have power to heal soldiers with the green-sickness. Maybe the soldiers who coughed blood wouldn't have to die.

Heal. Heal. HEAL!

"Katara!"

The water sloshed from my hand and I looked up in a daze.

"Katara, are you okay?" I recognized my brother standing in front of me as the fog began to clear from my mind.

"Um... yeah. I'm fine." I smiled up at him, but Sokka didn't seem at all comforted. His eyebrows were drawn together in a line of worry and his mouth was tipped down into a concerned frown. _He's such a good brother. _I thought to myself. _Always watching out for my safety. _

"What were you doing?" He asked.

"Oh, just practicing a new waterbending trick."

"It looked hard." He glanced at the small puddle of water that had settled in my palm and was now running down to wet the edge of my skirt.

"I... I think I just need to practice. Maybe it will get easier." I dumped the water from my hand and stood up, stretching away the kinks and weariness I'd accumulated just in spending a few short moments trying to heal a tiny scar. _What will happen when I try to mend a bone? _

"Well, I just wanted to ask you something. Me and Aang were talking and-"

"Really? How is Aang? I haven't gotten a chance to see him." I said. A little wave of sadness washed over me. I'd been too busy helping Zuko and training the waterbenders to spend any time with the boys like I used to.

I wistfully remembered the nights we'd spent, just three of us, crowded around a meager fire next to Appa. I smiled as I thought about the times we would spend talking about the wonderful things Aang remembered from before the war, or the color of the sky that night, or how good the vegetable stew was that Aang had prepared. Sometimes we would just sit by the fire and tell jokes and laugh. It seemed like a dream now, almost as if it had never taken place.

But it had. Back when there was still some childishness left in us. But war had taken that away; I could see it in the sternness of Sokka's eyes, and the heaviness of Aang's. I wished I could be there with them, but I was needed by Zuko now... I had a place and I couldn't abandon it. Even if I could, I wouldn't want to.

"Aang's doing okay. He loves all the attention he's getting from the soldiers." Sokka's mouth turned up in a lopsided smile. It was a little like Zuko's smirk, only without the arrogance.

"What else does he talk about?" I smiled.

"Meng. A lot." Sokka rolled his eyes. "He's going to find her as soon as the war is over and take her penguin sledding with him, since she's never gotten a chance to before."

I laughed out loud at this. Several of the earthbenders turned to look at me, and I put a hand over my mouth, chuckling into my palm. But when I looked up, Sokka's face was far from mirthful. If anything, it was sad. Confused.

"So... you're happy, Katara?" His voice came as if from far away. It was an abrupt change of subject, and by the way his gaze dropped to the floor, I knew there was more going on in his head that just concern for my current mood.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" I stared into his eyes, trying to see what lay behind his downcast blue stare. Sokka was much easier to read than Zuko, having not had to hide his emotions so thoroughly while he grew up, and I could see that there was a question I his eyes.

"I... I just want you to be happy, Katara." He said. Yes, I knew he wanted me to be happy. It was what he wasn't saying that intrigued me.

"I know, Sokka." I said, placing my hand on his cheek and looking into his eyes, conveying wordlessly that I understood what he was trying to tell me. "So, what was it you wanted to ask me?"

"Huh?"

"You said you and Aang were talking, and you wanted to ask me something." I reminded him. He seemed to come out of his haze and looked up at me. A brief smile flickered over his face.

"Oh yeah! I wanted to know if you had an extra blanket. Aang wants to make a flag with all four elemental symbols painted on it to fly over our ships."

"What a great idea!" I clapped. "Yes! Of course I have an extra one. Let me go get it." I rushed off. Why hadn't I thought of that? A flag for the ships! What a great way to bolster the men's morale and unite them.

I ran into my room and began rummaging through the chest where I stored my extra clothes. Sure enough, a forest green blanket lay on the bottom of the chest. I shook it out, the wrinkles flattening into the perfect backdrop for the rebel army's four insignias. I started toward the door, but then noticed that the knob was already turning. I'd been in such a state of excitement that I'd forgotten to lock the door behind me. I could hear Sokka's voice on the other side.

I cast a quick look around the room, and my world turned to jelly. Signs of Zuko's presence were everywhere: his robe draped across the bed, his meditation candles standing in the corner, his clothes folded neatly next to mine. And now Sokka was walking into my room. _Oh great! Not again! _I groaned inwardly. _This is going to be the dance at Aunt Wu's village all over again! _I rushed forward to try and block Sokka's entrance.

But I was too late. The door swung open and Sokka stood there, smiling and talking. "...and I was thinking it might be cool if we could get some bright paint to go around the edge and..." He cocked his head as he look at me. "What's wrong, Katara?"

I didn't move. Sokka would find out without any help from me. All I had to do now was wait for his outburst. I straightened my back and looked my brother in the eye. I'd been with Zuko long enough to know how to handle a few tantrums and shouting matches. But Zuko had been different. I'd known he would never hurt me. Sokka wouldn't hurt me either, but he might try to hurt Zuko, and that would be worse than if he'd slapped me in the face.

"Hey, why are you in Zuko's room?" Sokka said as he narrowed his eyes at Zuko's robe. Then he noticed my clothing in the corner.

"And why are your clothes in here? And why is your armor in here? And why-" The question died on Sokka's lips as he gazed at me with a confused, disbelieving look.

"We share a room, Sokka." I said in a quiet, controlled voice.

"YOU SHARE A _WHAT_?"

I was sure the entire ship heard that, and I grit my teeth. "Sokka, it's nothing bad. It all started when he saved my life by-"

"You've been sharing a room with that filthy, disgusting, vile, worthless, evil-"

"Sokka! Stop it!"

"No! I won't stop it! Did he make you? Did he force you? Because if he did I swear I'll-"

"No, Sokka, he didn't."

"Then why in the world would you want to-"

"I thought you loved me, Sokka." I said, so quietly that Sokka had to stop shouting to hear me. His hands dropped to his sides and he looked at me as if I'd gone crazy.

"Of course I love you, Katara. You're my sister."

"Then why can't you just accept that I've fallen in love with a firebender?" Sokka let himself fall against the wall, his back hitting the steel with a solid _thump. _

"Because I don't want to see you get hurt, Katara." He said softly.

"Get hurt? You think I'd actually-" I gestured to the bed and Sokka winced, holding up his hand to stop me from finishing my sentence.

"No, Katara, I know you'd never dishonor yourself. But Zuko's a different story."

"Ugh! I am so _sick _of this firebender prejudice you have!" My hands balled into fists and I felt like slugging my brother a good one.

"No. It's not about being a firebender. Well, maybe a little. But really, it's not. It's...it's that... Katara, Zuko's a _guy." _I raised one eyebrow. Yes, I knew that Zuko was a guy. Unbidden, thoughts of Zuko's rock hard chest and abs, sweaty from training, came to my mind. I pushed them away.

"So?"

"So..." Sokka squirmed a little in his chair, a faint blush staining his face. "Katara, guys are... they uh... when they..." Sokka buried his face in his hands and mumbled through his fingers "Mom should be telling you this, not me."

I sat on the bed and waited for Sokka to gather himself. Finally, he lifted his head from his hands. Staring at the floor, he began to stumble through his speech.

"Katara, some guys... they don't care whether you want to or not... they'll just... uh..."

"Sokka! Zuko's not like that!"

"How can you be sure?" Sokka's arms were crossed over his chest. I sighed, remembering the thoughts I'd had that morning. _It will just take time..._

"Zuko's got more honor than to... do that. Besides, we're surrounded on both sides by soldiers who sleep in rooms next to ours. One little whimper from me and one of them would be pounding the door down to make sure everything was okay." Sokka nodded, but his face was still dark.

"You shouldn't be so trusting..."

"I'm not! Believe me, I'm not! I hated Zuko just as much as you did when I first met him. But... things changed. I spent a year with him. I've seen what he's like underneath all the pain and fighting and horror he's had to endure. I know that to you, Zuko is just some angry, uncaring, unfeeling prince, but if he's built up walls, Sokka, it's to protect something inside. Something beautiful... and loving... something he couldn't show while he grew up under the tyranny of his father."

Sokka fell silent and stared at the ground.

"Here's your blanket." I smiled, hoping the change in subject would lighten Sokka's mood, as it had before. But Sokka took the blanket from me wordlessly, his face still a mask of confusion and frustrated misery. He turned and began to walk out the door. Just on the threshold, however, he stopped and faced me.

"Katara...?"

"Yes?"

"You really love him, don't you?"

"Yes, I do, Sokka."

Sokka nodded and turned, leaving me alone in the room.

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I sank onto the bed, thinking about the day's events and trying not to think about tomorrow's. I shut my eyes and tried not to think of my greatest love battling my greatest enemy. My stomach twisted and turned, racing to my throat and then dropping back down, like some kind of horrible seasickness.

Suddenly, the door slid open. Zuko walked in, a small smirk playing over his lips.

"Why are you smirking?" I looked at him suspiciously.

"I think your brother might be learning to accept the fact that you and I are in love."

"What did you do to him?" I growled only half jokingly, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't do anything. He did." Zuko's cryptic statement made my heart race. What did Sokka do? Did he throw himself into the ocean? Disguise himself as hay and have Appa eat him?

"What do you mean? What did Sokka do?" I feared the answer.

"He... talked to me." Zuko said. I breathed a sigh of relief, but then the breath froze inside my lungs.

"What did he say?" A thousand possibilities filled my mind. Had Sokka tried to persuade Zuko not to like me?

"Nothing important." Zuko evaded. I knew it! Had Sokka told him about how I used to run naked around the hut when I was a baby? Or how I used to smear whale fat on my face and then stick handfuls of animal hair onto it and pretend I was an ice monster?

"What did he say?" I growled.

"He didn't really _say _anything. He just sort of threatened."

"Threatened?"

"He said that as long as you were happy, he wasn't going to stand in your way."

"Where does the threatening come in?"

"It's no big deal. They were just threats. They sounded pretty funny coming from a scrawny little water peasant with no muscles and-"

"Zuko," I warned "what threats?" I gave him a look that told him I wasn't backing down.

"He said he wasn't going to stand in your way, but that if I ever... touched you... against your will... he would... do things to me." Zuko said. I raised my eyebrows and grinned. That sounded like Sokka, alright.

"What things?"

"You really don't need to know." Zuko evaded.

"Tell me." I warned. Zuko was not getting out of this one, and he knew it.

"He said he'd... cut off... things..." Zuko reddened and shifted uncomfortably. I noticed his discomfort and decided to do a little teasing.

"Oh really? What things?"

"You really think this is funny, don't you?" Zuko scowled at me.

"Yes."

"Fine." He huffed as turned to walk out the door. "You can just stay in here and laugh all you want. I'll be on the deck."

"Zuko... stop." I smiled, grabbing his hand and pulling him onto the bed. "I'm sorry. I promise I'll behave."

"Hmph." Zuko was still playing his offended little princely pout, but I could see he was just as amused as I was by Sokka's antics.

"He'll get over it. Just give it some time." I murmured as I snuggled against him, enjoying the feeling of safety in his arms.

"...Let's just hope there _is _time." Zuko mumbled into my hair. I shut my eyes, hoping to shut out the pain in my heart too. I'd almost forgotten about the war while Zuko and I bantered. Now, reality came crashing back down on me like the pounding of waterfall.

As I drifted off to sleep, anxiety was still humming through me. What would happen tomorrow? Would we be able to clear a way through the barricades or would our plan fail at the first encounter? Would we be able to get into the palace, or would our men be slaughtered on the marble steps? Would Zuko be victorious against his father, or would Ozai's ruthless cruelty strike his son down a second time?

Only time would tell...

**Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, beloved readers. I just got a new job and things are a little hectic while I'm trying to adjust. Don't worry! It won't take long to finish the story. I'm hoping that it will be done in a week... only a couple more chapters! I do so hope you like them! **

**Next chapter: **

**The Rebel Army Attacks!**


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

**...lol, okay, I've tormented you long enough. Enough suspense. Here's the chapter you've been waiting for.**

The sky was turning a shade of darkening purple and crimson as the sun sent up its last tendrils of light into the sky. The moon had already risen and was hovering above the eastern horizon, waiting like a pale witness of the horror that would soon ensue.

Everything was still, as if the entire world was holding its breath, waiting for the outcome of the battle, waiting to see how history would write itself, for that was what we were surely doing. In the hush of the deepening night the snapping and clacking sounds of the buckles on Zuko's armor seemed all the louder as I tied and laced them. Maybe it was just that I was afraid, and that was why each noise seemed to pierce the calm like a razor's edge.

My hands slid down Zuko's breastplate. I tugged on its edge, making sure that it was firmly in place. The toughened leather didn't budge, and I stroked it gently, as if I could persuade it to protect my love from the battle that was about to ensue.

But even if the leather could get Zuko past the barricades and the palace guards, it would do him no good when he went to face his father. In the year I'd spent with Zuko, I'd learned about the firebender way of life, and their myriad of traditions and customs. One of those customs was to strip yourself of your armor, your shoes, even your shirt, before entering an Agni Kai. I stared at Zuko's chest, imagining deadly tongues of fire circling his skin, burning and destroying the man I had come to love. I felt tears gather in my eyes, but I blinked them back, clenching my fists in the effort. I would be strong for Zuko.

"Everything will be okay, Katara." Zuko comforted me, placing his hand over my clenched fist. The familiar warmth of his fingers caused my taut muscles to relax, and I leaned into him, my armor making a soft _whump _sound as I fell against his.

"I love you, Zuko."

"And I love you, Katara."

His arms wrapped around me, holding me for a few precious moments. Then, he hooked his finger under my chin and brought my face up to meet his. His lips covered mine, and I could feel his heat flow into my body through our mouths.

But then something strange happened. Zuko's hand, which had been clasping mine, heated up quickly. Too quickly.

"Ouch!" I yelped, pulling back and withdrawing my hand from his.

"What's wrong?" Zuko's eyes were full confusion. I felt the same. Zuko had never hurt me before. And, from the look on his face, he hadn't meant to now. I looked down at my hand and at the skin that was turning a light shade of pink from the slight burn.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I... I don't know." Zuko said, looking at his hands as if they'd betrayed him. "Maybe it's the thrill of battle. I feel... strong, invincible. I guess I just lost control." He shook his head. "A firebender should never lose control."

"Yeah, maybe you're just worried about the battle." I said comfortingly. "It's not your fault. Look, it's going away already." He nodded, but still seemed distracted. A pounding on the door caught our attention.

"Commander, we've arrived on the border of the Fire Nation waters." A soldier's voice came through the thick steel of the door.

"I'll be right there." Zuko said. Turning to me, he gave me one last smile.

"I'll see you after the battle."

"Promise me, Zuko."

"I promise."

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My heart felt filled with a sudden, icy energy as I stared at the horizon. There, glimmering a pale silver in the moonlight, were the unmistakable lines of Fire Nation navy ships. There were only two patrolling the area, which gave me a thrill of hope. The odds were good, and we had the element of surprise on our side.

"To your stations." Zuko said. His voice was low, careful not to betray our motives to the ships ahead. The soldiers rushed to their positions on the ship, moving in a perfectly timed choreography.

Our ship came closer. Soon, we could see the tiny figures of Fire Nation soldiers moving about the decks, their pale face plates making them look ghostly in the moonlight. I shook the thoughts out of my head. There was no place for fear now.

"Halt and state your name." A commanding looking firebender said from the prow of the Fire Navy ship. As rehearsed, we all stayed motionless, sailing as if the ship moved of its own accord.

"Halt and state your name!" The soldier said again, this time louder and with more authority. Again, no reply came from our ships. I felt my muscles tense, my heart beat with the rapid fluttering of a bird beating against the wind.

"You will stop your ship now, or we will be forced to open fire upon you!" The soldier was screaming now, his ship only a short distance from ours. I could see his mouth moving in the darkness, and wisps of smoke curling from his lips like breath. Stillness washed over the ship, and I felt as if I were drowning in it. Finally, when I felt I could stand it no longer, Zuko's voice pierced the night, conquering the silence with his masculine tones.

"Who are you to demand information?" He sounded firm, sure of himself. The same arrogant, imperious Zuko that I first met. But there was something more now, too. A confidence that hadn't been there before. Not one of cocky self-assuredness, but one of quiet power, like a lion awakening from slumber.

"I am Admiral Jin-su. I patrol these waters, and authority has been given to me by the Fire Lord Ozai to question any that try to pass." The man said. His voice was less bold now, tinged with confusion and apprehension. "You will give me your name, now!" I noted a quiver in the man's voice.

"Then, Admiral Jin-su, listen carefully. I am Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, and I have come back to end my father's despotism and to claim what is rightfully mine." With that, Zuko raised Teikei's sword in the air, and the soldiers on our ships let out a war cry that rattled the metal beneath my feet.

I saw a look of panic on the admiral's face, and watched as he made frantic hand gestures to his soldiers. But it was too late. The waterbenders had been focusing on the water around Jin-su's ship, and their concentration produced a swelling of water that immediately tipped the vessel onto its side, sending its men plunging into the moonlit water.

Our small victory did not go unnoticed by the other ship, however, and a barrage of fireballs arced over the sky. Waterbenders on each of our ships worked together to raise waves up to meet the oncoming attacks. Wave after wave reached from the sea, catching the fireballs with liquid hands and dragging them into the sea. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I bent my concentration on helping pull a wave from the sea. My body tense and my muscles straining, I watched as the wall of water caught the fireball just in time.

I felt a gust of wind blow my hair back and I looked up to see the faint silhouette of Appa flying through the midnight sky. Aang was on his back, the young boy's body snapping through powerful airbending moves, deflecting some of the wayward fireballs.

Finally, the attack stopped as the firebenders hurried to reload their catapults.

"Attack!" Zuko yelled.

Rebel firebenders lit catapults of their own and sent waves of fire to crash down on our enemy's ship. Above, Aang blew the flames into a frenzy, causing them to explode into a roaring, devouring beast on the deck of the enemy ship.

A few more fireballs came spinning our way, but most were lost in the ocean or deflected by Aang. Only one hit one of our ships, but it caused no major damage, and the waterbenders aboard were able to put out the flames in one smooth motion.

With our enemies incapacitated, we picked up speed and coursed into Fire Nation water with powerful quickness. There was no turning back now.

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We knew we were getting close to the Fire Nation by the bright glow on the water. It was as if there was a strange fire burning beneath the waves. But the fire turned out to be torchlight reflecting off the ocean, torchlight from the thousands of burning lights that surrounded the port and lit the Fire Nation's land border.

"Into position!" Zuko yelled. A red flag went up, signaling the other ships to pull along side each other. They began forming a type of 'V,' the tip pointing away from the Fire Nation, and the arms straining forward, ready to attack.

Just as we'd guessed, the port was heavily guarded. Fire Nation fleets surrounded the port in a row of sharp metal teeth poking up from the sea. Without waiting for the ship captains to realize what was going on, Zuko raised his sword and sliced it through the air, signaling that the attack was to begin.

Water, fire, air. All mingled in the night air and rained down on the fleet of ships in a brutal, powerful storm. Although the earthbenders couldn't bend at the moment, they put their brawn to work and readied the catapults.

Our attack was well-planned and well-executed, and we were able to cut a small opening through the midst of them, which was just what we wanted. It would have been impossible to beat them all, and certain death if we tried, but we weren't trying to beat them. We were just trying to get to the palace.

As soon as we broke through the barricade, we rammed into the port, our ships crunching and the metal groaning as it buckled and tore against the shore. In a few moments, they would be consumed in flame as the Fire Navy fleet attacked them, but it didn't matter. If our mission failed, there would be no getting out of here, anyway.

Abandoning our ships to their destruction, we jumped to the ground and began to take up formation. The leaders assembled their men and readied them for the march through the heavily-guarded area. Already Fire Nation soldiers were gathering, preparing to defend their palace from the strange army that had somehow landed on their shore.

"Attack!" Zuko raised his sword and rushed forward.

Clouds of dust, whips of water, arcs of flame, spray of blood. All mingled in the night air, tinging the breeze with the perfume of death. The march to the palace doors seemed to take an eternity, and yet seemed to take less than a breath's time. When we arrived at the marble steps, Zuko rushed inside with only a few soldiers following in his wake.

I yearned to go with him. Watching him disappear into the dark, cavernous doorway was like watching myself fall into a long, dark pit. Maybe something would catch me... maybe I'd just hit the bottom.

Zuko'd insisted that I stay with the waterbenders. It was safer, he said. The rebels that were going with him into the palace would have the job of slaying the guards that tried to halt thier progress, and he didn't want me to have to take up that position. Besides, If Ozai came out victorious, he would start by killing the rebels Zuko'd brought with him. Zuko had said that staying outside might give me some time to escape into the woods and try to get back home, and He'd made me promise I would do just that, though we both knew that if he died, I would fight to the death, too.

"Hold up the gap!" A leader of the rebel army shouted. His voice was so loud that it made my ears ring. I took a quick look around our little stand on the Fire Palace steps. Already our army seemed overwhelmed, a tiny force compared to the massive, roiling sea of red uniforms that were closing in on our edges.

_Remember, we're not here to beat them, just hold them back._ I repeated to myself as I threw myself into the melee, snapping out with my waterwhip and chasing the fire from the hands of my enemies.

But something was wrong. The fight was not going in our favor. _Come on, Katara, you didn't really expect this to be easy, did you? _No, I didn't, but I didn't expect it to be this _hard, _either. After fighting in the rebel army for a year, I'd gotten used to the rhythm of the firebenders, and to how much force was needed to put one out of commission.

But today was entirely different. There was something strange in the way the firebenders attacked, as if they possessed some raw, uncontrollable power I'd never come up against before. _What's going on?_

I sent my waterwhip cracking against a soldier's forehead, but the man turned and caught the water in a burst of flame, then he lashed out with his fist, pushing me to the ground with such force that the air was knocked from my lungs. I lay on the ground gasping in pain and shock.

I'd had a year's worth of war training, and yet the soldier had been able to dispatch me with a simple two-step maneuver. It was night, and the moon was up! I should have been stronger than him!

I cast my eyes up the moon, which had risen higher into the sky, a pale dot of light mirrored in the glow of thousands of silvery stars.

... except for one.

One star was different from the others. It glowed red instead of silver.

My breath stopped in my throat as I stared in horror at the fiery 'star'. Suddenly, it all made sense... yesterday, when I'd watched them train, I'd thought that the rebel firebender's increased energy was just from nerves. I'd thought that Zuko's burning of my hand had just come from worry. But that wasn't the case at all... they'd all been given greater power... power that came not from themselves, but from the sky.

I could feel every heartbeat.

Feel every pulse of the blood that rushed through my veins. The world seemed to stop for me, leaving me alone and staring up at the death in the sky. Leaving me with one bitter realization.

We were too late.

The comet had already arrived.

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I do not know how long I lay there, but I did not lay there long. Jumping to my feet, I looked around. Everywhere I turned, the rebels were being slaughtered, with the exception of the firebending rebels, of course.

"Okan!" I yelled when I saw the familiar face in the midst of the chaos. Hearing my voice, he turned to me.

"Katara! You must fall back, Zuko would wish it-"

"I don't have time for Zuko's wishes right now. Where is Aang?"

The guard shook his head. "I haven't seen him. Him or Zaike or Dako or that old firebender general, Iroh." Visions of these men came before my mind's eye, visions of them lying on the cold ground, their faces pale in death, their breath stopped and their lifeblood draining onto the dirt.

"I have to find Aang!" I shouted over the screams. Akon reached out to stop me, but I evaded his grasp and darted into the roiling mass of bloody, sweaty, writhing bodies.

"Aang! Aang!" I called out, hoping my voice could be heard above the thud of earth being thrown and the hiss of fire as it crackled in the air above my head.

I looked for what seemed to be an eternity. I was beginning to lose hope, my vision filling with the image of the young monk's body torn and lifeless on the ground, when a sudden flash of yellow caught my eye.

"AANG!" I screamed so loud my throat hurt. When no reply came, I wondered if Aang had heard me, or if I'd only imagined seeing his yellow clothing among the clash of red and green.

Suddenly, I was lifted off my feet. I gasped as the world dropped out from beneath me in a speed that made my stomach lurch and twist . I turned my neck as I strained to look up. That's when I felt a familiar, fuzzy warmth and smelled a musky odor.

"Appa!" I shouted.

"Hey, I'm the one that rescued you. Mind giving me a hand?" I looked further up and noticed Aang's face for the first time. It was pulled tight into a scrunched look of exertion as his hand gripped the back of my tunic.

Grabbing handfuls of Appa's fur I hoisted myself up and into the saddle and sat there panting for a short time. Finally, I caught my breath and looked down. In the pale moonlight and glittering torches I could see thousands of tiny bodies smashing and striking against each other, coloring the ground with their blood.

"War is such an ugly thing, Katara." Aang said in a voice barely above a whisper. Out of my daze now, I whipped my head up to face him.

"Aang! The comet! It's already come." I pointed to the burning light. Aang only nodded.

"I know, I saw it up here a little while ago."

"Then you know we're too late! All this has been for nothing." Despair slithered through my veins and into my heart with icy fingers.

"No. Maybe not." Aang said, looking into the sky.

"What? What do you mean?" Aang's face hadn't changed since he'd brought me onto Appa's back.

"I don't know... I was thinking." Aang said softly. "I've been having dreams."

"Dreams?" I wondered if the young Avatar was finally losing it. Maybe the war had been too much for him.

"Dreams of thunder. And darkness. And the avatars before me." Aang said quietly.

"What? Aang, I don't understand." But Aang didn't offer any explanation, only crawled forward to grab Appa's reigns.

"Yip yip." He said. I watched as the palace grew larger beneath us and Appa swooped in to hover just a few feet of the ground.

"This is where you get off, Katara." Aang said. I looked up at him curiously, but obeyed. There was something new in his voice, just as in Zuko's. There was a new kind of bravery there. A determination.

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

To my shock, the arrows on Aang's body began to glow a bright blue, and his eyes shone with an empty, ethereal light.

"Go to Zuko." Aang said. Only it wasn't just Aang. His voice was there, certainly, but there were also many other voices behind it, all pulsing with sudden purpose.

"Wait! What are-" But Aang was already lifting off into the sky. Unable to take my eyes off the strange, glowing figure, I watched as Appa carried Aang off into the midnight sky.

Suddenly, a wind began to whip up around me. I saw it come crashing down around the armies, swirling through the masses of fighting bodies and snapping at the flames of the torches with hungry jaws.

I looked up and saw clouds begin to gather in the sky, swirling and boiling as they slowly began to blot out the moon and stars. Building in thickness and intensity, the clouds continued to come together, their black shapes first obscuring, then hiding Aang's glowing form.

Lighting began to flash from their depths as wind shrieked from the sea, wailing like a lost thing in the night, and blowing out the torches that lined the streets and surrounded the palace. I shuddered in the darkness. I could sense the wrath of the storm, I could feel the fury of the wind and the darkness as it closed in on me. Lightning flickered in the sky, illuminating for a moment the dark mass of clouds that now writhed in the midnight sky. Thunder shook the ground and for a moment the fighting ceased below me.

_Aang said to go to Zuko. _My breath caught in my throat. _Go to Zuko._

I dropped my arms to my sides and ran.

**Well... I have the next chapter typed out, too. Should I let you have it now, or drag out the suspense and wait a day or two? Thanks, everyone, for your amazing reviews! They have been truly an encouragement and a blessing to me! You guys are amazing, and you all deserve a big hug!**

**HUG**


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

My footsteps pounded up the marble halls, a rhythmic beat outpaced only by the sound of my heart drumming in my ears. Although it was black as pitch outside, the torches in the palace had remained lit, giving me more than enough light to see the horror that surrounded me.

Dead guards lay everywhere, slicking the floor with their blood, their eyes gazing lifelessly at the ceiling, as if in watching their souls depart. My stomach twisted and shuddered inside of me, threatening to empty of the meager dinner I'd choked down before battle, but I only clenched my teeth and ran harder. There was no time to obey the whims of my body._ I may already be too late._

The marble staircases and hallways echoed with the sounds of my boots thudding on their luxurious surfaces. I felt as if I'd been running forever by the time I got to a great, wide room. A fountain stood in the center of the room, spewing fire instead of water, while all around me were draped golden and red and black tapestries displaying the Fire Nation emblems. The tapestries brushed the ground and ran all the way up to the ceiling, which rose in a graceful arc over my head, so high that I thought it must surely disappear into the stars. Statues of grim, joyless men stood in each corner of the room, their stern faces glowing gold in the firelight. They were dressed in golden battle armor, and carried golden weapons. Their heroic, broad-chested poses suggested that they were ancient kings or revered warlords from the Fire Nation's past, and candles surrounded their golden shrines, a testament to the Fire Nation's warring history.

Everything around me suggested opulence, power, strength. From the imposing, sky-high ceiling to the fierce glares of the ancient warriors, everything had been built to display the Fire Nation's invincibility and superior strength. Standing in the midst of it all, I felt suddenly, jarringly out of place. Standing in the middle of the wide, imposing room, I realized that I was just a small peasant girl from an obscure Water Tribe, clad in only some hardened leather armor and boots.

Could this room, built in stone and stained in blood, crumble today because of the actions of a small, weak peasant girl from the Water Tribes?

_In weakness, Katara, there is great strength_.

"Thank you, Gran-Gran." I whispered as I sped up the marble staircase, taking the steps two and three at a time. My breath came in ragged gasps, and my body felt soaked with my own sweat. When I reached the top of the stairs, I was trembling. And lost. Where was Zuko? I looked around, my eyes searching the long hallways that seemed to lead in every direction. Finally, my eyes alighted on a faint glow. I sprinted into the room, only to find the glow had come from nothing more than a few candles set up on a long table.

I wasn't in an Agni Kai arena! I was in a _dining _room! My heart dropped as I surveyed the room. It had been a dead end. There was nothing here but a table and chairs, a few candles, and a small pitcher surrounded by goblets. I turned to leave, but was stopped dead in my tracks by a dark figure standing in the doorway.

"Lost, water peasant?" A familiar voice hissed. My heart froze at the malice, the cruelty, the sadism all layered in the tones of her words. Zula. She must have followed me. _Well, I've neatly walked into a nice little trap, haven't I? _There were no other ways out of this room except for the door Zula was standing in front of, and only one way out of it. Gathering my courage and my wits, I composed myself and spoke.

"Yes, actually, I'm trying to find Ozai." I snapped back at her, keeping my voice steady as I tried to mimic the arrogance I'd heard in Zuko's voice.

"Oh really? Planning on begging for mercy from him already?" She sneered.

"Actually, no. He'll be the one begging." I spoke with more confidence than I felt. I did not mention Zuko. Maybe she didn't know he was here. Maybe I could keep him safe...

"Well, I'd let you go out there and do your best, but my father is still of some use to me. I don't need him dead... yet." She picked a knife out of her belt and began to twirl its gleaming edge in front of her face, gazing at it with a loving smile.

"Let me pass!" I shouted, bringing a water whip out of my canteen and waving it in front of my face. Zula laughed, an evil, mocking sound that made me feel as if I were nothing more than a small bug about to be squashed beneath a child's shoe.

"Well, I suppose I do have some time to play." She grinned at me and then dropped down into a fighting stance, unleashing a column of fire at me so fast that I could hardly follow it with my eyes. But this time I'd been prepared and expecting her rapid, aggressive maneuvers. I dodged out of the way just in time to have the fire hiss harmlessly past my back.

"You're going to have to try harder, Zula." I said, narrowing my eyes and sending out my water whip to smack her hard in the face. To my surprise the whip hit its mark, causing a small trickle of blood to stain the edge of Zula's cheek. The girl put her hand to her face and then drew it away. A look of surprise crossed her face as rubbed the blood between her thumb and forefinger. Finally, her glittering golden eyes raised to meet mine.

"I underestimated you, water peasant. But that will just make your death all the more pleasant." She leaned forward, pushing a wall of inescapable flame toward me. When she'd done that before, I'd been able to simply throw up a wall of water from the lake that had surrounded me, but I was far from my element now, with only my small canteen of water between me and the rabid princess.

I spread my hands out and focused on creating a thin barrier between me and the flames. The water flattened and spread, but I could smell the sharp odor of burnt cloth and singed hair. I was unharmed, but that wouldn't last long. I was out of water. It had been entirely consumed in blocking her attack.

Before I could gather moisture from the air, I found myself flat on my back and winded. Bright lights exploded in front of my eyes and I tried to blink through the daze. I heard a scream and saw Zula's fist close in on my face as she stood over me. I shut my eyes and rolled to the side. I missed her fist, but I was not fast enough to escape her foot. It connected with my back in a sickening thud and an explosion of pain.

I groaned and rolled to my knees. Zula pounced, swinging her foot in a devastating kick aimed at my head. I arched my back, straining the muscles of my thighs and stomach as I watched her leg swing above me. While she was caught off balance I struck out with my fists, catching her in the back of the knee and sending her to the floor.

Zula howled in rage and twisted, bringing her knees to her chest and then pushing them out in a sharp, fast kick. This time I wasn't fast enough to dodge the attack. Her feet crashed into my chest and knocked the air from my lungs for the second time that day. Gasping for breath, I clung to the floor. Zula took advantage of my momentary weakness and sent a fireball at my face. I twisted away, only to be caught by another fire attack. My bones cracked and my head spun as I was thrown across the room and against the wall. Blackness hovered just outside my mind. I knew I wouldn't be able to take much more. I tried to struggle to my feet, tried to ignore the screaming pain that echoed in every corner of my body.

I felt myself being lifted by my breastplate. I felt hot air in my face. Air that smelled dead. I blinked open my eyes to see Zula's sadistic smile leering up at me as she held me in the air.

"Poor, stupid water peasant. Did you really think you had a chance?" She purred. I felt intense heat cover my body as she let go and plastered me to the wall again with another fireball. This time I didn't try to get up.

I could feel blood running hot and sticky from my nose and lips, could taste the salty sweetness of my own lifeblood. I could feel my limbs splayed at odd angles from my body, the tendons and muscles on the verge of snapping. But I couldn't move. I didn't know where I was broken, but I knew that the next blow that came down on me would be my last. Darkness was creeping through my mind, shutting off screaming pain that knifed through my body. I was glad. Glad for the end of pain. Glad for the end of fighting.

"Poor, stupid water peasant." Her voice hissed in my ear. I could feel heat so close to my face. Such a painful, unbearable heat. I knew I was going to die.

"Did you really think you could defeat the future Fire Empress?"

Torment worse than the heat crawled through my mind. I imagined everyone's faces as they perished in flame. Gran-Gran, Gramma Mae, Shing, Okan, Sokka, Aang...

"I suppose you think my brother will keep that from happening, don't you?"

A surge of fear shot through my veins. Zuko!

"He's battling our father right now. Who knows? He may even get lucky and win." She said in a cheerful little voice.

"Either way, I'll still be Empress, though. Should Lord Ozai win, everything will go along as planned. I will kill him in his sleep and take the crown from his head by morning. If Zuko wins, well, it really won't be that hard to kill him. I was earning my title as master bender while he was still learning the basics."

She leaned forward, her lips just above my ear.

"And anyway, he wouldn't be able to kill me. He's always been _weak_ like that. Just like his mother." She laughed again, and I winced at the sound, it was like metal scraping against stone. "I will enjoy watching him die."

My heart staggered in my chest as her words sunk it. "I will enjoy searing the rest of his handsome little face. I will enjoy the way he'll break when I tell him how I killed you. I will enjoy his death screams as his blood wets my feet." She hissed.

A thousand memories flooded my mind, a thousand moments from the past year: Zuko's arms wrapped around me when he saved me from the cold-sickness. His face set in determination after Teikei's death. His eyes as he looked into mine just after we'd shared our first kiss. His smile when he felt brave enough, safe enough to let some emotion show. His warmth surrounding me, nurturing me, saving me as I saved him.

I would not let Zula take that away from me!

I would not let Ozai tae that from me!

I would not let this cursed war take that from me!

"NOOOO!" I screamed so loud that it echoed off the walls, reverberating in the floor beneath my palms and hurting my ears even as it escaped my lips.

Blood poured into my legs like liquid fire and my arms trembled as they pushed me up. I grit my teeth, ignoring the protests of my broken body as I stood to my feet. Zula's eyes widened and one of her eyebrows went up.

"You're a persistent little water pea-"

I rushed at her, not bothering to gather water or bend. This had nothing to do with bending. This was one human pitted against another. One heart against another, fighting for the lives of many. Fighting for the life of one.

Zula slammed against the wall as I tore at her, scratching, kicking, pulling her hair, punching her with what little energy I had left in me. Zula was shocked for a moment, but then gathered herself. She pushed me hard. I stumbled backwards, felt the edge of the table come up against my hip and trip me. I sprawled out on the table. Zula was coming toward me, anger burning in her eyes.

I searched around desperately for something to defend myself with. The candles were useless; they would only obey her will. I picked up one of the goblets and threw it at her. It bounced harmlessly off the wall as she ducked beneath it. I threw another, and another. She was getting closer. I picked up the pitcher now and heaved it with all my strength.

I realized too late that it felt strangely heavy. I'd expected it to be empty, but it wasn't. It spilled its contents all over Zula before crashing harmlessly at her feet.

"You are going to die now, water peasant." She shrieked, rushing toward me. Suddenly, I recognized a strange odor. I realized that the liquid dripping from Zula's body wasn't clear, instead, it was a deep red color. Horror coursed through me as I realized what the strange smell was.

Alcohol. The pitcher hadn't been full of water. It had been full of _wine_!

"Zula! Don't!" I raised my hand, desperately trying to warn her.

"Don't bother begging, water peasant." She spat. "You will receive no mercy."

With that, she held her palm up and ignited a fireball in her hand.

But the action caused sparks to erupt on her wine-soaked clothing, covering her in a shimmering gown of flame.

"Aighhh!" She shrieked. I searched around for some water, but just as before, there was none in the room. Zula stumbled backward and out the door of the dining room. I watched in horror as she hit the railing full-force, splintering the thin wooden rails and plummeting down the staircase to the war room below.

Trembling, I walked to the edge. There lay Zula, wrapped in flame and surrounded by the golden, glaring faces of her ancestral warriors.

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I kept moving. I didn't know what gave me energy. I didn't know what kept my legs moving, I only knew that I was running through the halls as if I were flying. Suddenly, I heard a sharp scream to my right. Turning sharply on my heel, I headed toward the sound.

Through long hallways I ran, through rooms of opulent tapestries and high ceiling, across rugs soaked with the blood of dead guards. Finally, I burst into a room that was very different from the rest. It was large enough to hold many people, with many seats surrounding a long rectangular platform. It was here that Zuko stood now, his chest bare and heaving, his body marked with blood and burns, sweat pouring from his body, shining on the purple and black bruises that were already rising on his flesh.

My heart broke for him, then froze at the sight of the warrior that stood on the platform across from him.

Fire Lord Ozai. Zuko's father. The man who had slain every airbender but one, the man who'd ordered the destruction of my village, among many others. The man who'd burned his own son.

Well, irony was about to bite him hard. I watched as Zuko sent a fireball spinning in the man's direction. They'd already been fighting for some time, and it seemed that Ozai was the one worse for wear. Ozai dodged the fireball, but couldn't miss the kick Zuko sent at his feet. Ozai fell with a loud thud to the floor. Zuko ran up and raised a fist to his face, igniting his hand and holding it over his father.

"You are defeated, Ozai! Surrender the crown now!" Zuko shouted hoarsely. Ozai looked at his son in shock, but then a wicked smile spread over his lips.

"No."

The confusion I felt was mirrored in Zuko's face.

"You have no choice! It is the way of the Fire Nation to pass on the crown once the Lord has been defeated."

Ozai laughed a deep, grating laugh, like that of rocks pounding and scraping against each other. "No, son. That rule only applies if the Lord is _killed." _He purred the word, saying it with loving affection, as if it were water on lips dying of thirst.

"No! You may keep your honor and your life and surrender the crown to me!" Zuko shouted, his brow furrowing in rage and frustration. Ozai only laughed and shook his head.

"I knew it. I always knew you were _weak, _Zuko." Ozai sneered at Zuko. "You can't do it, can you? You can't kill your own father. The man that gave you that disgusting scar." His lip curled in disgust at his son. "Forever a mark of your shame. Of _my _shame in bearing such a spineless son."

Rage billowed in me like wind filling the sails of a fishing yacht. I clenched my fists and willed Zuko to let him have it. But Zuko didn't. I saw doubt flicker on his face for a second. _No! Ozai can't do this! He can't make Zuko hate himself again!_ I rushed forward from the doorway, sprinting through the rows of seats.

"Spineless? Zuko just crossed an ocean, beat through a barricade, and fought off a palace full of guards! He did all this while _you _sat on your throne, sending others to fight your battles for you!" I shouted as I neared the platform.

Suddenly, the weight of Ozai's eyes were on me, pinning me to the floor and filling me with a strange kind of paralyzing fear. Suddenly, the full terror of realizing what it must have been like for Zuko growing up settled on me as I stood there at the base of the platform, caught in the furious fire of those eyes.

"Who are you to interrupt an Agni Kai?" He spat at me, still on his knees and yet commanding me with as much power as if he were seated on his throne. I closed my mouth and stood rooted to my spot, not falling back, but not able to come forward.

"And you! You are not fit to be called my son!" I saw Ozai put his hand behind his back and light a flicker of flame in his palm.

"Zuko!" I screamed. Ozai turned to me in rage and raised his fist. I had no water, no place to run, no place to hide. Beneath him by the platform, I was defenseless. I closed my eyes and waited for the burning.

"NO!" Zuko's yell tore through the room, making my eyes snap back open just in time to see the Prince's body arc and twist in the air. Moving with a speed I'd never before seen in man or beast, Zuko leapt in front of me and sent a kick at his father's legs. I heard the stomach-turning crack of bone splintering, and saw Ozai hit the ground, his head smacking against the ground with a sickening, sloshing, cracking _thwak! _

Ozai lay motionless on the floor, but even now his chest still rose in breath. The fall should have killed him. Maybe it was just the comet that was keeping Ozai alive. _Why doesn't Zuko just take the crown from him now? _I grit my teeth as I remembered Zuko explaining the many rules of honor the Fire Nation held to. The Fire Lord had to either die or hand the crown down willingly.

"You are defeated! Surrender the crown!" Zuko's voice cracked and he choked a little, seeing that his father was dying.

"No." Ozai wheezed. "You must kill me first." I saw torment rip through Zuko's features, saw pain convulse his muscles. If he did not kill his father, thousands of men would die, but the agony of what he had to do was killing him inside just as much as it was his father.

"You have caused your son too much pain and grief in his life already, do not heap this upon him!" A voice spoke from the among the rows of seats. "Do one honorable thing in your life, brother. Surrender now." Iroh stepped from the shadows and climbed the platform, his eyes hard and unyielding. This was a side of Iroh I'd never seen before. A side that terrified me and thrilled me at the same time.

"No. I will die before I see him on the throne." Ozai wheezed through bloody lips.

"Then so be it! He is free from you now, and his rule will not begin with more bloodshed!" With that, Iroh pulled a long, slender blade from his cloak and poised it over Ozai's back. Wordlessly, Iroh brought the blade down, ending Ozai's cruel reign and ruthless life.

Zuko stared down at the lifeless form of his father. I saw profound sadness in his eyes, a wish for what had never been. But I also saw relief. He really _was _free now.

I watched as Iroh led Zuko from the platform and up to me.

"When he is ready, he will know what to do." Iroh said softly to me as he led us from the Agni Kai arena. Once outside, Iroh disappeared again, leaving me with Zuko. Stepping forward, I placed my arms around Zuko gently, careful to avoid the thick purple bruises. He fell into me. For the first time, Zuko leaned against me, instead of the other way around. For the first time, he wasn't afraid to receive my strenth.

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Zuko was bloody and wounded, but he did not stop to find a shirt or a basin to wash in. He just grabbed his sword, and walked up a long staircase. I followed him, remembering Iroh's words. We climbed forever, up and up until we'd reached what must have been the sky.

There, on the far wall, was a large window. Zuko walked up to it and pushed it open. Wind whipped inside, tearing at my dress and my hair, billowing around my sleeves. Zuko walked forward, and I with him.

The clouds were beginning to dissipate, and through their fading mist, I could see the pink light of morning lightening the eastern horizon. I could also see the faint white form of Appa and a small flash of yellow. I smiled. _Thank you, Aang. _The sun was breaking through, bright and new, casting a golden light on the palace. Far below us, I could see men still fighting, our small earthbender army now pushed back almost to the palace steps. But Zuko raised his arm and shouted a war cry that stilled the fighting below.

"I am Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, and today I have beaten the Fire Lord Ozai in Agni Kai. I am now Fire Lord!" Zuko lifted his sword above his head, thrusting it into the sky and causing the sun to glint off its edge.

Slowly, the fighting ceased. Firebenders dropped their stances and looked up at the palace in puzzlement, staring at the scarred young man with the sword.

"Is this true?" One of them called. "How can we be sure?"

"Because the Fire Lord is dead, and I have brought his crown." Iroh stepped forward on the palace steps, the crown of the Fire Lord glinting in his hands. Excited murmurs and shouts of surprise rose from the crowd and swelled at our feet.

"As Fire Lord, I now pronounce this war over!" Zuko shouted, dropping the sword to the ground. There was silence for several moments.

And then,

Suddenly...

A great roar of cheering rose from the crowd.

A new day was dawning. For the Fire Nation,

And for the world.

**So, what did you think? Did the ending live up to its expectations? I really, really really really hope so! (Crosses fingers and holds breath) Tell me what you think! And no, it's not quite the end yet. I'm still writing the conclusion (And it's a long one, with lots more happening) so that should be up in a day or so, Lord willing. I'm still holding my breath... I hope you liked it!**


	35. Chapter 35

**Lol, wow. I got a bunch of reviews telling me I'd better hurry up on the fic. Thanks guys! I was really encouraged to get at it. I do apologize for not having this out sooner. I had the rest of Dangerous Ground already mapped out, but I hadn't done that for the conclusion. Sooo... it took a little longer. Sheepish grin forgive me? Here it is: The Great Tying Up Of Ends.**

**Chapter 35 **

The next several weeks went by in a whirlwind of activity. There were warships to call back, troops to withdraw, advisors to dismiss, and a host of other things to take care of as Zuko's new rule was instituted.

For the first few weeks, I was busy just trying to clean up the mess. There were thousands of wounded soldiers to tend to, and only a few waterbending healers to help me. Soon, however, I was joined by several more from the Southern and Northern Water Tribes, who had come to volunteer their time and skills in a celebration of the new peace. I searched for familiar faces, but most were just young girls, new to bending and healing but eager to help. They looked at me with wide, worshipful eyes, and giggled in blushing groups when Zuko would visit me and try to sneak in a kiss when he thought no one was looking.

I kept up hope that one day I would see the face I so longed to see: my father's. I knew it was foolish to think that he might have escaped the slaughter the Fire Nation had dished out before the end of Ozai's reign, but I still held out a little flicker of hope, burning inside me like a flame in Zuko's hand.

I was bent over the leg of a soldier one day, examining and healing the laceration that had slowly begun to heal, when a rough, familiar voice caught my attention.

"There she is. Healing, just as a woman should be." I recognized the voice, along the chauvinist attitude, immediately.

"Pakku!" I yelled, whirling around to greet him with a wide smile.

But there was someone standing beside him that made the smile vanish in shock.

There stood my father.

I was dimly aware of the orb of healing water dropping from my hand. I could feel it splash against my ankles as it hit the floor in a soft _plosh_. That _plosh _was suddenly the only sound I could hear. The quiet murmurs of the other healers, the moans of discomfort from the wounded men, the laughter and the chattering of the soldiers as they regaled each other with war stories: all faded away as I stared into the face my father.

He was older. Much older. Lines had seeped into the supple softness of his skin like tiny rivers biting into the yielding loam of a mountainside. Grey and white hair had replaced the thick mane of brown that I used to twist my fingers in when I was a baby. He clutched a walking staff now, his once tall, strong body was now bent to take the weight off his right leg. Yes, the ravages of war had taken their toll on my father, but one thing remained untouched:

His eyes. They sparkled with the same bright hope that they always had. It was that hope that had kept me looking for the return of his ship when I was a little girl, standing at the watch posts and peering into the fog. It was that same hope that had flickered in my own heart, passed from father to daughter like one candle lighting another, that kept my head up when all was at its darkest.

I felt my feet begin to walk toward him. They moved of their own will, pushing me through an endless expanse of space. Part of me told my feet to stop, that if I came any closer, the vision would shatter like a dream and I would be left standing alone, facing only the aching reality that my father was never coming back.

But he didn't shatter. He scooped me up into his arms, as strong and sure as he ever was. I buried my face in his parka, relishing the familiar, musky scent. I felt something hot and wet fall onto my face, and I looked up to see that he was crying. Thin streams of water streaked down his face, his hot, salty tears mingling with my own as they fell on my cheeks.

"My daughter! My Katara! What a fine woman you've grown into." He said, his voice cracking with emotion as he held me. So strong, like he'd never let go.

"I was waiting for you! I knew you'd come back!"

"Of course! Didn't I promise I'd come back to you when the war was over?" He asked, smiling down at me.

"I'm so happy to see you again!" I buried my face in his chest again. It had been so long since I'd felt his strong arms around me, holding me and shushing me when I'd had a nightmare, telling me that everything would be okay. So long... "What took you?" I asked.

He laughed and stroked my hair. "I was fighting, along with the rest of the waterbenders from our tribe, in a tiny outpost on the other side of the world. It takes a while for news to travel, I suppose."

"When did you hear that the war was over?"

"We heard it just a week ago. At first, we thought it was all just a wild story, like all the other ones we'd heard. But this bit of news came from the mouths of Fire Nation messengers, who carried parchments bearing the royal seals. There wasn't much room left for doubt, there."

"What do you mean 'other ones'? There were other rumors that the war was ending?" My brow furrowed in confusion.

"No, no. Nothing like that. They were just strange stories. Some kind of nonsense about an army that only appeared at night, that was led by a dragon that could scream like a man, and a woman with seven arms who could snatch fire from the air. They were said to disappear as soon as-"

I began to laugh so hard that my father had to stop talking. He gave me a puzzled stare. "What's so funny? Have you heard the stories, too?"

"Yes, you could say that."

"Well, you don't have to laugh so hard." My father feigned a hurt expression. "It's not like I believed them."

"Hmm, you should have." I said, tilting my head and grinning mischievously, as I had done when I was a child and wouldn't tell him where I'd hid his boots.

"What are you talking about?"

"Come with me, I have a lot to tell you."

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My father and I stood in the barren gardens of the Fire Nation court. Ozai had ordered the blooms destroyed a long time ago, and winter had obliterated the last of the few straggling weeds that had sprung up in the fire-blackened earth, mirroring the death that still clung so tightly to the walls of the Fire Nation palace. It was like a disease, lingering in the air and choking the breath of those who entered. But with each warmongering advisor who was dismissed from his position, with each gold-plated statue glorifying firebender destruction removed from the palace, with each bloodied tapestry taken from the walls, the plague was slowly, painfully slowly, lifting.

My father and I had stood in the cold garden for a long time as I told him about the past several years. He listened quietly as I told him of finding Aang trapped in an iceberg, and laughed as I recounted Aang's antics and the adventures we'd had together. His face had grown serious when I told him of meeting the Fire Prince, and nodded approvingly when I'd told him of my decision to heal Zuko instead of letting him suffer or die.

When I got to the part about our capture by the earth kingdom rebels, my father's eyes widened in surprise, an expression that only intensified as I told him of the battles I'd faced, and the way I'd watched Zuko take command of the rebel army and, ultimately, defeat his father.

"So, you see? There was some truth to those rumors." I said teasingly, leaning against the metal rail that ran around the garden. My father shook his head and smiled.

"My daughter. A legend! You have become an honorable woman, Katara." His smile faded and emotion blurred his eyes. "I only wish I could have been there to watch you."

I pulled myself into his arms. "Oh father, don't worry! You're here now! Everything will be as go back to the way it was." I tried to comfort him.

"No, Katara. Things will never be as they were. Time moves. It's like water, it is never the same." He smiled again. "But that is a good thing! All things must change, and I am happy to see that time has revealed what a woman of character my daughter is!"

I smiled up at him.

"Yes, a woman indeed. Old enough, it seems, to be in love with a young man?" Father raised his eyebrow at me and crossed his arms. Never in all my life had he ever reminded me of Sokka more than now. I blushed, feeling suddenly very much like a child, despite my father's words.

I had told my father everything of the past year, not leaving out the romance Zuko and I had shared. The blush deepened on my cheeks and a little jolt of fear ran through me suddenly. _How will he react now that he knows his daughter is in love with a firebender? And not just any firebender: The _Prince _of firebenders! _I decided it would do me no good simply standing there looking nervous and silly.

"I want you to meet someone." I said, taking my father by one hand and leading him from the garden.

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The war room had been renamed the 'peace room' by Uncle Iroh. The old man had insisted that the tactic would help entrench the reality of our position in the minds of any Fire Nation nobles who wanted to contest. Zuko had rolled his eyes and called his uncle silly for his idea, but Zuko had done what Iroh said, anyway.

After spending some time with them, I'd begun to understand the strange relationship they had. Iroh would make some request, usually one that made no sense at the time, and Zuko would stomp and protest and then give in to whatever Iroh asked. It was kind of amusing, once you got used to it, and I enjoyed watching the two interact.

But for now, Iroh was no where to be seen. Only Zuko occupied the peace room, his brow furrowed and his body bent over parchment scribbled heavily with problems he, as the new Fire Lord, was now burdened with fixing. I knew he was more than capable of handling it, but all the same he seemed grateful when I walked through the doors. His eyes lit up with a bright, fiery glow and his mouth widened into a genuine smile.

I left my father outside. Zuko deserved a warning before I brought him into the room. I stood at the door, wondering how best to broach the subject, but Zuko didn't give me a chance.

"I'm glad you came." He said, getting up from among the parchments. He winced as he stretched muscles that had grown used to the awkward pose. "I think we both need a break."

I nodded. We'd both been working tirelessly since the defeat of Ozai, giving ourselves only an hour or so each day to talk or cuddle or both. It was hard on us, but we knew that eventually peace and rest would lie on the lands again, and our time to relax would come. For now, though, we had to content ourselves with furtive kisses and stolen embraces. Taking his chance, Zuko crossed the room and pulled me gently into his arms. I took a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of peace and safety in leaning against his warm, strong body. Tenderly, he began to stroke my cheek with his fingertips, sending little pulses of electricity to thrum in my veins.

I brought my face up and closed my eyes, waiting for heaven to descend on my lips.

It did, warm and moist and tasting of Zuko. A gentle, innocent kiss that tingled in every nerve beneath my skin. That's when I heard a cough behind me.

I'd grown used to earthbender doors. Theirs were sturdy, hardy blocks of earth that swung open and closed with a great deal of noise and effort.

Firebender doors, on the other hand, were often nothing more than a beautiful strip of red silk hanging in front of the entryway like a curtain. Such was the case for the peace room. It was because of this that I hadn't heard my father walk into the little love scene between me and Zuko.

Zuko looked up with a bit of confusion. "Is there something you need, sir?" Zuko said, his voice betraying none of the annoyance that I could detect in the flickering of his eyes and the subtle rise in his body temperature.

"Well, yes. My daughter, actually." My father crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side.

Zuko paled a little, but he did not relinquish his hold on me. If anything, it only became stronger. I smiled.

"Don't worry." I whispered. Zuko's muscles relaxed a little, but there was still a tension in the air that made me feel as if a fog had rolled in and was weighing down on us.

"Katara, would you mind waiting outside? I would like to take a moment of the Fire Lord's time, if he doesn't mind."

Zuko nodded to my father, granting him his request. My eyes shifted between the two men. There was tension there, certainly, but not danger. My father's lips were not pursed, and Zuko's body temperature had not risen noticeably higher. I decided it was safe to leave the room.

Leave the room?

Yes.

Leave the hall?

No.

Just outside the silk curtain, I stepped to the side, pressing myself against the wall outside the entryway. I held my breath as I listened to the words that floated through the veil like tiny fish through water.

"So, you're the new Fire Lord? Fire Lord Zuko?"

"Yes."

"I congratulate you."

"Thank you."

"I mean no disrespect to your father, but he was a terrible man."

"...There are many that share your opinion."

"Good. I am glad to see a new ruler on the throne. But one thing puzzles me."

"What is that?"

"Well, the war is almost won for the Fire Nation. Why not finish it? Why not continue fighting until the other races have been enslaved, as your father wanted?"

"The war has gone on long enough. I want the bloodshed to be over."

"Sure! But, wouldn't enslaving everyone end the war? And to your favor, I might add."

"No."

"No?"

"The war will never end as long as the elements are out of balance. Even if the Fire Nation should win, the bloodshed would only continue in the forms of rebel uprisings. Men and women would still have to go to war. Families would still be ripped apart. Sons and daughters of all nations would still die."

There was a pause for some time. I let out the breath I'd been holding and strained my ears. The silence roared around me.

"I see you like my daughter."

"No."

"No?"

"I love her."

"Ah, clever."

"No."

"No?"

"It's not clever. It's the truth."

"Hm. Passionate."

There was another pause, and I let myself breathe before I passed out.

"You know, I once thought that's all that firebenders were. Passionate. Angry. Destructive."

Zuko didn't answer.

"I knew the teachings of my people, that we are to acknowledge each nation for its good qualities as well as its bad, and to show love and compassion to those who are different from us. But, to be honest, I thought that those ideals would be proven wrong the moment I stepped onto the ship and headed out to join the war."

"Did they?" Zuko asked.

"No. I thought I'd just see the angry side of firebenders, as I had most of my life. But my travels took me to many places. I saw things I'd never thought I'd see in my life... Would you mind indulging me as I tell you a story?"

I knew Zuko hated stories and proverbs, and I cringed. However, Zuko slowly, reluctantly answered "No, go right ahead." I smiled. _Thank you, Zuko._

"One night I was patrolling the forest a short journey from my base. It was a dark night, and I wandered too far and got lost. I fell into a hunting pit and broke my leg, badly. I was bleeding heavily, and about to pass out from the pain. I thought I would die in there, in the dark and the cold.

"But then I heard voices. At first, I just thought it was the spirits of my ancestors, coming to carry me home to rest, but as the voices grew louder, I realized that they belonged to very real, very alive people. Imagine my shock when I saw the face of a Fire Nation man peek over the edge. I assume they must have been surprised to see me, too, instead of a nice, fat platypus bear!" My father chuckled.

"I expected to die at their hands. I expected no mercy, no compassion. But... instead, I was carried on their backs to their village nearby. You see, they weren't soldiers. They were settlers, sent to occupy the earthbender land that the Fire Nation had won. At first I was angry, I wanted nothing to do with these people who would take the lands of my earthbender brothers. I even thought of killing them, but I was too badly broken to try anything, so I just let them do with me as they wished.

"I was tended with the care of a broken kitten, and they... they healed me! I never thought such a thing possible from the Fire Nation. I knew the could destroy. But heal? True, their methods were intense, using strong medicine and cauterizing fire, but they were also quick and merciful. The treatments kept me from infection and dulled the pain, but I still couldn't walk. I was forced to just sit there and watch them.

"I saw many things that surprised me. I saw fathers embracing their children. I saw young men wooing girls with simple, heartfelt affection. I saw women spend all night tending to the sick, and men going out of their way to help a needy neighbor. It came as a quite an eye-opener for me to realize that maybe firebenders weren't the ruthless, heartless sadists I thought they all were.

"I realized that maybe, some were different..." Father finished, allowing quiet to permeate the room, giving his words added meaning. Then, I heard his voice boom in the direction of the door.

"Katara, don't you have some things you should be getting back to?"

I blushed and grinned. "Yes." I said through the silk, before hurrying off. As I left, however, I could still hear my father and Zuko talking.

"This isn't the first time she's eavesdropped, you know."

"Really? Well, that doesn't surprise me. She's done that since she was a child..."

I grinned naughtily as I left them.

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Winter passed quickly. It may have been because of the flurry of activity that kept us busy, or simply the fact that winters in the Fire Lands didn't last as long as those in the Earth and Water Lands. Either way, I was glad to feel the sun's warmth cover the earth again, creeping into the ground and stirring to life the tiny shoots and buds that had been sleeping there.

By spring's first sunrise, we'd made great strides in bringing the nations together in peace. Of course, that wasn't to say it was _easy._

Although most of the nobility was happy to see the end of the war, there were still dissidents. Many powerful nobles of the Fire Nation's court contested Zuko's rise to the throne, his ending of the war, his choice of... companions. There had been times I'd wanted to speak out against their accusations, and times I knew Zuko wanted to do more than just speak out at them. His flickering golden eyes told me he'd like to end their trouble-making tongues for good.

It was at that time that Iroh would often chime in with just the right words. Sometimes it was something as simple as a short proverb or a few well-chosen sentences, smooth as butter, as gentle as a wave rocking a boat on a calm sea, but holding enough power to silence the challenges. It was then that I would grin at the old man, realizing that perhaps he wasn't quite as old and doddering as he let on.

There were no words, however, to assuage the suspicion and one hundred year's worth of war and prejudice felt by the other three nations toward the Fire Nation. The end of the war had come quickly and easily. Peace, however, did not. An uneasy tension existed between the nations, as if they feared the Fire Nation might turn around at any second, declare the entire thing a horrible joke, and slaughter them all.

If not for Aang we would never have gained the trust of the other lands by spring. But, thanks to his tireless effort, Zuko's constant demonstrations of peace and honor, and my ambassadorship to the water tribes, we were slowly making roads toward seeing one hundred year's worth of hatred slowly melt away.

It was exhausting work. And work, I knew, that would probably never end. Zuko was paying now for the mistakes of his father and grandfather, paying with his time and effort and blood and sweat. It didn't seem fair.

I stood by the window one morning, enjoying the feel of the ocean breeze on my face as it blew in from the sea, which laid just within sight of the palace. The closeness of my element was the one comfort I enjoyed most among the opulent luxuries of the palace. I stretched out my arms and let the breeze fill my sleeves. I could imagine myself as a bird, flying high above the petty, stupid troubles of the people below. Their feuds and their anger and their greed disappearing beneath me as I rose high enough to touch the moon. I breathed in deeply, the last rays of the setting sun warming the air before it entered my lungs.

I began to focus on the sea, stretching out my hand and pulling a tiny ball of water from the waves. I cupped my hand, letting the water settle in my palm. I smiled and twisted the ball around in my fingertips, playing with it with the same joy as a little girl who'd finally found a long lost doll.

I'd not waterbended in a long time, as most of my day had been consumed with the work of the palace. But now, with the water tingling and shimmering between my fingers, I realized just how much I missed bending. I decided at that moment to set aside time each day to practice again. Starting today.

I closed my eyes and pulled my hands apart, creating a long, thin stream. I squished my hands together again, quickly, and a disk of ice was now between my palms. The water melted and spattered to the ground at my feet in several tiny raindrops. I lifted my fingertips and the raindrops sprang to life, leaving the floor to dance in the air around me in a whirling, shimmering display. I smiled at my own mastery of my element.

I brought the water back together again, letting it hover just above my palm. Suddenly, a light pink line caught my attention. The scar. A memory flashed in my mind's eye, one of sitting on the deck of a rocking Fire Navy ship, trying to heal the scar in the hope that I could better heal the wounded men.

It was not something I could have learned in so short a time, and I had been foolish to think that I could have. But now... now that there was a fragile peace and I had a bit of time to practice...

I focused on the scar again, flattening out the water into a cool, wet bandage. This time, the tingling came faster than it had before. I smiled, hoping that perhaps I would be successful on this try. I focused harder, feeling my strength flow into the water as it glowed a brighter blue. I could feel myself begin to tremble as time went by, but still nothing had happened.

I relaxed a little, letting the water puddle in my hand. With one more deep breath, I tried again. The water glowed, tingled on my palm, and teased my skin. I focused on the edges of the scar, focused on the pain I'd remembered being there oh-so-many months ago, and relaxed, letting the water do its healing.

This time, I did feel something. An electric touch around the edges of the scar. It sent prickles into my skin and made me gasp. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, but one that did surprise me. I continued focusing, my eyes squeezed shut, my breath coming in short, panting gasps. Finally, the tingling stopped. When I opened my eyes again, they widened in shock...

Then I heard footsteps, and they were coming fast. I let the water fall from my hand as I whirled around. Zuko came in and began taking off the ceremonial Fire Lord robes.

"Enjoying the sunset?" He asked casually, his back to me as he pulled a long, golden robe over his shoulders.

"Um... sure." I smiled, hiding my hand behind my back. I didn't know why I felt I had to hide it from Zuko. After all, he knew of my ability to water heal.

_Later. _Later? What was that supposed to mean?

"I missed you today." He said, finally having extricated himself from the many layers of cloth. Standing there now in only his silk pants, he crossed his arms and gave me a chiding, mischievous smile. It took my breath away, and I promptly forgot about bending.

"What do you mean? I got to see you at breakfast and lunch." I said, mirroring his stance.

"It wasn't enough." He pouted.

"Well, we wouldn't want to deny the Fire Lord what he wants, now would we?" I swayed my hips a little as I walked toward him. I felt the temperature in the room rise a little as I brushed against him, crawling into bed.

He followed me, curling his arms around my middle as we settled onto the mattress. I felt his breath in my hear, felt his body heat with a gentle, pleasant warmth to compensate for my cold skin. I smiled and snuggled further into his embrace. Zuko buried his face in my hair and matched the rhythm of my breathing as we slowly drifted to sleep in each others arms.

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When I woke up the next morning, Zuko was gone. I was not alarmed. Zuko usually rose earlier than me, and sometimes left before I awoke. Taking a furtive look around the empty room, I walked to the window and threw open the curtains, letting the soft, slightly-salty breeze fill the little room with the scent of flowers blooming under the spring sun.

I settled myself on the ground and began waterbending. This time, I skipped the play and got right down to healing. Closing my eyes, I concentrated.

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My days began to fall into a steady routine. I would wake in the morning to find that Zuko had already risen and left, though for what purpose I could never tell, and I would then spend some time practicing waterbending alone in my room. It was slow going at first, for learning to heal was different from learning to fight.

But waterbending was only a small part of my day. I also had the duty of entertaining the leaders of the Water Tribes and helping them to unite and see the benefits of establishing peace with the Fire Nation, ensuring them that the peace treaty Zuko was proposing was no trick or trap. I would also spend some time with Aang and Sokka, who both had duties to attend to in the palace as well. Sometimes I wrote letters to Gran-Gran. Father had gone to be with her, and it comforted me to know she was being looked after.

One of my favorite pars of the day was when I got to walk in the gardens. Many, many earthbender gardeners were tending the soil there, removing the silt and soot that Ozai had burned into the earth, and replacing it with the soft, nutrient-rich loam that lay beneath the surface.

Already, the green shoots of young plants had begun to spring up, their tendrils reaching through the ground like fingers grasping for the sun. I smiled as I walked the paths leading around the garden, admiring the glints of color that speckled the ground, the tiny buds of early-bloomers.

When I got back to the palace, I would have just enough time to slip into my night clothes before Zuko walked in and shrugged off the heavy robes, loosening himself from the heavy mantle of Fire Lord and baring his soul as we spoke of the trials and triumphs of the day, nestled in each other's arms, or covering each other's faces with gentle, hungry kisses.

The next day, it would start all over again. It wasn't until early summer that we saw the first major victory for the budding peace between the four nations. A peace treaty was to be signed! It would ensure a cessation of hostilities between the nations, and the opening of free trade. It was a great triumph, and would be celebrated accordingly.

A feast would be prepared and all the leaders of all the nations would be invited. My father would be there, along with the leader of the Northern Water tribe, Yue's father. King Bumi would attend, as would the surviving Air Nomads, who had escaped the slaughter by hiding. It was going to be a grand affair.

A little tremor of excitement ran through me, realizing what an honor it was to have a chance to see a table full of the leaders of four nations sitting and celebrating together in peace. It was a sight that hadn't been seen in over a hundred years.

I fidgeted a little with the strap of my kimono. It was a soft, satiny gold, and it clung to my curves in a very becoming way.

But I didn't like it.

It was just so... so... extravagant. Covered in layers upon layers of sparkling, shimmering cloth, I felt more like an overweight butterfly than a warrior woman from the Water Tribes. I sighed, once again trying to press down the folds of silk.

Surprisingly, it was the plainest dress among the selection. I had been brought dress after dress that morning, paraded in front of my by servants, as if neither I nor them had anything better to do than pick out finery. I sighed, rubbing the creases of frustration out of my forehead. I gave myself one last look...

...And ripped the cloth from my body. I would rather go to the feast naked than wear such a thing. _Hmm... perhaps I could persuade Zuko to follow my trend tonight..._

I pushed the idea from my head, blushing and chiding myself for my naughtiness. But now I had a problem, I was naked, slightly cold in the late-spring chill, and the feast would begin in only a short time. I sank onto the bed, glaring hatefully at the pile of silk and fluff on my bedroom floor. _Gold. What was I thinking? It's not even my color._

Suddenly, an idea surfaced in my mind. My color. I ran to one of the chests piled in the corner of the room. It contained the few, precious things I'd accumulated during my year at the earthbender fortress. I'd had it shipped from the Earth Kingdom as soon as the war was over, and had carefully folded and touched the items, relishing the bittersweet memories of a time when the future was as unsure as footing on dangerous ground.

Now, rifling through the chest, I finally found what I had been looking for. My hands gripped something soft and silky. Yanking it from beneath a pile of green earthbender tunics, the blue dress from Aunt Wu's village unrolled and draped across my knees.

It was not as fine a silk as the golden kimono, nor was it as bedecked in layers of rich cloth and jewels, but its simplicity was its beauty. I held it up to my bare skin and relished the feel of its cool touch, the deep, ocean blue matching and complementing my eyes.

I pulled it over my head, twisted my hair into a loose bun, tied on a pair of sandals, and adorned myself with only my mother's necklace for jewelry. Standing in front of the mirror, I was pleased with the end result. I would not match the Fire Nation women, and I knew that I would earn a few disdainful stares at my nonconformity, but I didn't care. I did not earn my title of warrior only to be intimidated by a few catty glances from Fire Nation nobility.

I walked out to the garden and waited, running my fingers over my smooth palms. Zuko would be along any time now to take me to the banquet. While I waited, I surveyed the thousands of enchanting blooms that now filled the place.

It was just as Zuko had described it to me: a place of life, bursting with color and diversity and rebellious shades of blue and green and yellow. I smiled, running my finger over the cloud-soft petals of a nearby violet.

Finally, I heard footsteps. Zuko approached, dressed handsomely in masculine robes of the same golden-colored silks that I had despised. On him, they seemed to fit, matching his fiery eyes and setting off the glow of heat in his skin, their colors shimmering under the torchlight. A little shiver of delight passed through me.

"You look very handsome." I said softly, rising from my place. Zuko's eyes fell on my gown and a smile tugged his lips upward.

"I... I don't match." I said, not sure whether to feel apologetic or rebellious. I decided on the latter and lifted my chin defiantly. Zuko shook his head, his smile widening.

"I would not have you any other way."He said softly. Another shiver ran up my body despite the warmth of the early-summer's night.

Pulling back, he cocked his head and looked at me with a soft smile. "I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"I've been talking to your father."

I brow furrowed. What could_ that_ mean? Had my father tried to convince him that we were not suitable for each other? Had he threatened Zuko the way my brother had? Had he threatened to refuse to sign the peace treaty unless Zuko left me alone? A thousand possibilities ran through my head and chilled my blood.

"I asked him for something." This was the most puzzling statement of all.

"What could a Fire Lord possibly ask for from a Water Tribesman?" I laughed. There was a pause, and Zuko reached forward to take my face in his hands.

"For his daughter's hand in marriage."

My world suddenly stopped. I could hear each heartbeat, I could taste the dew of night in the air, I could feel the light of the moon falling on my shoulders, I could smell the fragrance of each exotic flower in the garden. Dimly, Zuko's voice reached my ears.

"I love you Katara..." Zuko paused and placed a hand into the fold of one of his sleeves, bringing out a tiny package wrapped in fine blue silk.

"All my life, the only things I knew were anger and pain and fighting. It was all I thought I would ever feel. But then..." Zuko looked at me, his eyes conveying a wordless message, reaching beyond the confines of human language and speaking with words known only in the deepest places of a person's being.

"You healed me, Katara." His voice was barely above a whisper. Slowly, he began to unwrap the package in his hands. I gasped at what I saw.

A long silk band was curled inside the package, and at the center of the band was a stone of the purest, brightest blue I'd ever seen. It was circled in pure gold, set with rubies that sparkled in the moonlight. In the center of the stone, there was a carving. I peered closely at it, but could not recognize the symbol.

"What is..."

"It's a blending of the fire and water symbols." Zuko said, smirking at his own cleverness. "I created it myself. Your father taught me how to put together the rest, and I did: every morning, before you woke."

I smiled and looked back into the eyes of the man I loved. My heart was beating in my chest like a thousand birds flying against a hurricane.

"When I was fighting my father, I was so afraid. But... it wasn't for the reasons I thought I'd be. I thought that... that I would be afraid to lose my honor, again. Or to lose my throne and my country. I thought I'd be afraid of death. But... I wasn't afraid of those things. I knew I had the strength to face them all. The only thing I didn't have the strength to bear...

...was losing you." He brought his hand up to caress my face, bringing my eyes up to meet his solemn stare.

"Everything else in this world pales when you are standing next to it. I could have all the riches my father dreamed of and never be happy without you there. You are my only weakness, Katara. And you are my only love..." He took a breath.

"Katara, will you accept the betrothal necklace?"

I counted two heartbeats of bliss before I jumped into his arms.

"Yes, Zuko, yes." I felt tears of joy course down my face and burn on my cheeks. Trembling, I pulled back and watched as Zuko held up the necklace. Suddenly, he frowned.

"What about your mother's necklace?" He asked. I smiled and closed my hand around the stone. "It will be passed down to my daughter..." I untied the knot. "...just as it was passed down to me, only to be taken off when she has found love as I have."

I closed my eyes as I felt Zuko's hands reach around my neck to tie the betrothal necklace around my throat. Dimly, I remembered a night a long time ago, when there had been pirates and fighting and a scroll. Zuko's hands had been around my neck then, too, holding my mother's betrothal necklace against my collarbone. I smiled at the irony. If only I had known then...

"You look beautiful." Zuko smiled, a small blush staining his cheeks. I felt heat come to my own skin and reached up to stroke the blue stone. Zuko took me by the hand and led me into the palace. Sounds of celebration and laughter filled the hallways, and I my heart beat excitedly as we neared the entrance. I was about to walk through, when Zuko stopped me.

Beaming, he faced the crowd. His hand still firmly holding mine, he addressed the tables filled with every nation.

"Tonight, I celebrate our peace!" Zuko shouted, and immediately the voices stilled and the faces of hundreds of leaders turned to face him. "But I have new reason to celebrate, as well. The beautiful and honorable Katara of the Water Tribes has agreed to marry me!"

There was a shocked silence for a while, which was soon drowned out in a wild, cheering roar of applause.

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**Not over yet... **


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

The wedding was set for the end of summer. Invitations went out to the four corners of the earth, inviting friends and relatives to share in the joy of Fire Lord Zuko and Lady Katara. The palace was aflutter in preparations.

The finest food and drink were shipped in from every nation, ensuring that each of our guests could sample a favorite dish from their own nation. Bright, shimmering banners of blue and red were hung on the walls, lavishly draping to the ground in voluminous folds. As I walked through the palace, surveying the preparations, it was like walking through a dream.

Everything was light and beauty and color. Though the palace was still unmistakably Fire Nation, reds and golds and hard, graceful lines still the dominating theme, the cold feeling of hate was gone. So much had changed... And that change was about to be consummated tonight as the last waterbender chief added his name to the peace treaty.

Although we'd celebrated the signing of the peace treaty at the beginning of the summer, it had taken the whole season to collect the signatures of every last national leader, from the most obscure Water Tribe chieftain to the most disgruntled Fire Nation nobleman. But today... today the last man had signed.

There would be no public celebration. We'd already recognized the triumph at the beginning of the season, and to celebrate again would be redundant, not to mention a bit confusing and difficult to manage in the midst of the wedding plans. However, the significance of the event was not lost to me as I stared out the window at the Water Tribe ship that was slowly fading away on the horizon.

He was going back home, safe and secure and knowing that he needn't fear for his family and his people any longer. I closed my eyes and breathed out a sigh. I'd never thought this day would come.

Oh, I had hoped for it. Certainly! I'd dreamed, as a little girl, of seeing the messengers come riding in one day, their faces bright with joy as they proclaimed the end of the war. But I'd always thought it would be a thing accomplished by other people. Stronger people. Certainly not a little waterbender from an obscure tribe in the south.

_Well, you had some help. _I smiled, Zuko's face suddenly filling my mind's eye. What would have happened if I'd never met him? Would I be sitting on the ice right now, listening to messengers tell me of the end of the war?

_No. _I didn't know how I knew, but I _knew. _It was no accident that I met the Fire Prince. If I hadn't... Perhaps there would not be such a happy ending. Closing my eyes, I imagined Zuko's warm gaze, his fingertips combing my hair, his voice, low and gentle when we spoke together.

Getting up from my place by the window, I sought him out.

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He was standing by a window in one of the palace's many west-facing rooms. A warm, sunny breeze was blowing in from the sea, tossing his hair carelessly back from his face as he stared out at the ocean. The sunset was casting a golden glow on his skin, making him look almost ethereal as he watched the waves carry the last Water Tribe ship home.

"It's finally over." He whispered as I came forward to stand next to him. I wrapped my arm around his waist.

"Yes it is." I murmured.

Zuko turned from the window to face me. His gaze was soft. There was a look of great tiredness in his eyes, but also one of great relief. I laid my head against his chest, smiling with him in the gentle, quiet joy of the victory.

"It's taken a long time... but finally, the last traces of my father's cruelty are leaving this place." Zuko said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Now the land can start to heal. There will be nothing left to haunt us."

Zuko turned back to face the sea. But he didn't turn his whole body, just his face. It was then that I noticed the scar. I'd noticed it before, of course, but it had never bothered me, just served to heighten Zuko's mysterious past. But now, in glow of the setting sun, the wounded flesh seemed all the more painful.

"What about this?" I asked, my hand reaching up to stroke the hardened, reddened scar. He winced as I touched it. I knew it didn't hurt to stroke the burn. No, the pain came from being reminded of it.

"Katara, there's nothing that can be done about-"

I had planned this. No, I hadn't told myself outright that I would do this, but in the back of my mind, as I practiced water healing each morning, each time with a bigger scar, I'd known somehow, somewhere in the back of my mind, that eventually, we would both be ready...

The water was in my hand, bent from a small basin of drinking water on the table. It glowed in my hand, tingling with pent-up energy. Zuko stopped speaking and stared at me quizzically as I lifted my palm toward his face. Zuko backed away from my touch, confusion and apprehension flickering in his eyes as my hand drew nearer

"Trust me, Zuko." I said softly, placing my hand over his left eye, the scarred one. He gasped, but didn't move. I closed my eyes, focusing. It was true that over the past several month's worth of practicing, I'd grown more powerful in my water healing, but I'd still never attempted to heal something this traumatic. I'd need all of my energy.

It flowed from my body into the water, just as it did when I healed ordinary wounds, but this time the tingling was more pronounced, more intense. I heard Zuko's breath catch, felt his body tense.

I focused on the scar, my body thrumming with energy and force as I reminded the water that the scar was a wound. Just as I had with my own, I concentrated on the pain of the burning, imagining the agony of the searing, burning flesh, the suffering of the young man as his skin was melted away...

There was screaming. Whether it was mine or Zuko's I didn't know, so deep was I in concentration. My muscles were trembling and my teeth were gritted. I could hear them grind in my mouth. I poured myself into the healing, feeling my blood pound in my veins as every last part of me _pushed _to heal him.

Finally, with a gasp of breath, I let go. I could feel myself falling. I tried to stop myself, but I couldn't. Darkness hovered in front of my eyes and finally overtook my vision. I tried to look at Zuko to see if the healing had worked, but I was too exhausted. I had spent everything I had. I was unconscious before I even hit the ground.

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I felt myself being scooped up into strong arms. Smiling, I nestled myself into Zuko's embrace, enjoying the warmth.

...Wait...

There was no warmth. Though strong, these arms did not emit the same familiar glow of heat that I had grown used to in Zuko's body. I opened my eyes quickly, blinking in the light of the setting sun.

"My Lady Katara! I am so glad to see that you're okay!" The overjoyed voice of a guard brought my eyes up to settle on his face. I recognized one of the palace guards, an earthbender who had fought with the rebel army.

"We were so worried! We heard a scream and..."

"Calm yourself, Makoto." Another guard said, entering the room with his sword drawn as he looked around for the cause of the scream. "We don't know what she's been through." Still a little dazed and tired, I hadn't gathered myself enough to try and explain. Suddenly, the guard with the sword yelled a shout of alarm.

"My Lord Zuko!" He knelt down. I followed his movements, and saw that Zuko had fallen to the floor, crumpled onto his left side. The healing must have knocked him unconscious as well. I stared at his motionless form.

I was dimly aware of Makoto's worried voice asking if I was okay, and what had happened, and if I'd been attacked, but I wasn't listening. I was watching in breathless awe as the second guard reached down to rouse Zuko. His hands were on the Fire Prince's shoulders as he called Zuko's name plaintively, begging him to get up. Then, he rolled Zuko onto his back.

The guard's mouth dropped in shock and disbelief, while mine widened in joy, as we both looked down at the clear, unmarked skin of Zuko's face.

His scar was gone.

Zuko stirred, his breathing quickening as he began to wake. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

"What... happened?" He said, sitting up and looking around. I felt tears gather in my eyes and I motioned to Makoto to put me down. I walked to him and knelt by his side, pulling him into my arms as I whispered softly in his ear.

"The last fingerprints of Ozai are gone." I said, and I felt Zuko take a sharp intake of breath in realization.

He didn't have to look in a mirror to know what had just happened.

"Thank you." He whispered.

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Shimmering rays of sunlight danced through the many windows that lined the aisle leading to the altar. As I passed under each one, I felt as if I were being bathed in a blessing. I closed my eyes and clutched the bunch of peace lilies in my hands, delighting in the cool feel of their stems against my palms.

"Nervous?" My father whispered to me as he led me up the aisle. I grinned.

"No." I answered truthfully. He smiled and continued to walk with me up the long, golden carpet. I was aware of many eyes, and could hear appreciate gasps and murmurs from the hundreds of guests who had been invited to the wedding.

"Isn't she beautiful?" I heard an excited whisper somewhere to my left. I turned my head, but was met with only the glowing smiles of many, many people.

I blushed a little at the scrutiny of so many eyes. Growing up in a tiny village in the southern Water Tribes, I was still unused to the large population of the Fire Nation capital. I brought my focus forward, trying to forget the crowd.

My eyes alighted on the breath-taking sight of my future husband. Zuko stood at the altar, staring at me with eyes glowing with love and awe. A smile tugged my lips upward, and I soon forgot about the hundreds of staring faces. For me, there was only one other person in the room, and he was waiting for me to marry him.

My father left me at the altar, stepping back to let Zuko take his stand at my side. I smiled and placed my hands in his, comforted by their familiar warmth. The master of ceremonies began the marriage ritual, an amalgamation of both the Water Tribe and the Fire Nation rituals, praying for our eternal happiness and sprinkling us with water and circling us with flame. The ceremony lasted for what seemed to be less than a breath's time.

When it was over, I felt myself swept up into Zuko's arms as he placed a passionate kiss on my lips. A cheer went up from the audience, a thunderous roar that echoed in the walls of the palace and seemed to make the very floors shake. Then, I was being led from the wedding room and into the feasting room.

There was dancing and music and enough food to keep Sokka happy for days. At first, I was content to sit and watch the festivities, but then a pause in the music caused everyone to stop dancing as a new chord was struck. There was something familiar about the rhythm...

My mind was suddenly filled with memories of a distant place, a dark night, a blue dress, a village of a fortune teller. Suddenly, Zuko was standing, his hand outstretched in invitation.

"Dance with me." The same words he'd used so many months ago. I smiled and stood, easily slipping into his embrace and allowing him to lead me into the dancing circle.

It was not so hard to keep up with the steps this time, even in the long, flowing train of my dress. We swirled around the dance floor, a whirling, shimmering mix of red and blue, like a colorful ying-yang symbol. I would have danced the entire night if only the song hadn't ended. But it did, and a new tune was played.

A voice spoke behind me. "Excuse me, my lord, but it is customary in the Water Tribes for a man to have one dance with his daughter on the wedding day." My father said to Zuko, who reluctantly let go of my hands and allowed my father to step in. I watched the Fire Prince disappear in the crowd as my father led me into the dance.

"Don't look so forlorn! You will see him again! You are married now!" My father laughed.

"I'm not _forlorn._" I smiled. "I am happy to see you. I am glad you were able to make it."

"Able to make it? What makes you think I would miss the wedding of my little girl?" He asked, feigning hurt.

"Oh, I don't know." I teased "I thought maybe you'd just think it was another one of those wild rumors."

My father laughed. "You will never let me live that down, will you?"

I shook my head, smiling.

"Nothing could have kept me from attending today. That can be said for someone else, too." He said cryptically.

"Someone else? Who?"

"Your Gran-Gran."

"Gran-Gran!" I shouted, whirling to see if I could pick her out from among the many people.

"She is sitting at the table, drinking tea with an elderly gentleman. She is too tired from the journey to join in the dancing, but she would appreciate your company later." He smiled.

"I will go now!" I said excitedly, letting go of my father's hands and turning to leave the dance floor. In doing so, I almost ran straight into Aang, who was standing coyly behind me and blushing.

"Um.. Katara... Can I dance with... if you don't mind... you?" He rubbed the back of his head and gazed at the floor sheepishly. I smiled. As much as I wanted to see Gran-Gran, I couldn't disappoint Aang.

"Sure." I said, taking his hand and leading him to the floor. I had to teach him the complicated steps of the Fire Nation dance, but he caught on quickly.

"So what will you do now that the war is over?" I asked.

"Well, I still have to sit on the council and everything. You know, help solve agreements and stuff that will come up between the tribes and all that."

I nodded. That had been a part of the peace treaty. Zuko and I were not so foolish as to believe that arguments would not arise between the nations again in the future. A council comprising of representatives of each of the four nations, and the tribes and kingdoms within them, would work to solve the disputes before they turned into all-out war.

"Yeah, but council only meets once a moon. What will you do with the rest of your time?"

"Well... I want to go back to Aunt Wu's." Aang said, avoiding my eyes and blushing. "I'm going to stay with her for a while."

I smiled knowingly. Aang mistook the expression.

"It's not that I don't want to stay with you and Zuko in the palace, Katara!" Aang said hurriedly. "It's just that... that..."

"It's okay, Aang. I'll get over it." I said, trying to hide my smile to spare Aang any embarrassment.

"Great! Oh, and don't forget! I'm going to be doing a lot of traveling! I want to ride the fish again, and I'm going penguin sledding too! You can come too, if you want." He smiled cheekily up at me. Still so young... he didn't understand that soon my time would be filled with the complicated task of helping my husband run an entire country.

And I wouldn't have it any other way. Penguin sledding held much less appeal now than when I was younger, now that I knew what true love felt like. I would not have given up standing by Zuko's side if I'd had the chance to ride all the Kiyoshi fish in the world. But still, I was glad to see Aang finally get to live the childhood he'd never had.

"Thanks, Aang. I'll remember that." I smiled back.

"Hey, can a guy dance with is own sister anymore?" Suddenly, Sokka was beside me. Aang bowed to me and slipped off into the crowd. I embraced Sokka before letting him take my hands and lead me into an awkward imitation of the dance being performed.

"Did you like the wedding?" I asked.

"Oh yeah. It was great. I mean, it would have been better if Zuko wasn't there, but I guess you can't have everything you want in life, can you?" Sokka quipped.

"Oh, stop it!" I laughed. "You like Zuko, you just won't admit it."

"Yeah, well. I swear, Katara, if he does anything to make you upset or angry I'll take my boomerang and-"

"Zuko isn't going to hurt me, Sokka." I said, smiling gently. Sokka's shoulders slumped and he gave me a bit of a defeated grin.

"I know." He looked up, a genuine smile gracing his lips. "I'm glad you're happy, sis."

"I am, Sokka."

There was a pause for time, and I spoke up. "What about you? Are you going to stay at the palace? There is plenty for you to do."

Sokka shook his head. "I have other plans."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow. This was the first time I'd heard anything about this. "What plans?"

"I'm heading out to Kiyoshi island."

"Kiyoshi? Why there?"

"I have some things to find there." He said cryptically. I was about to ask more, when Zuko stepped in.

"Excuse me, but my Uncle requests we sit with him for a while." Zuko said. Sokka bowed, no hostility in his face this time, as he looked at Zuko.

Zuko took my hand and led me to a low table lit with flickering candles. There sat Uncle Iroh. I smiled politely at him, and turned to face his companion. Sudden realization flashed through me, and I let out a very un-Fire Lady whoop of delight.

"Gran-Gran!" I shouted. Several faces turned to look at me, but I didn't care. I flew into her arms, delighting in the feel of her wrinkled skin pressing against my cheek.

"Katara! What a big girl you've become!" Gran-Gran smiled at me.

"Oh, I've missed you so much!" I said, pulling away to look into her eyes.

"And I, you." She smiled. Then, her eyes shifted and I felt a gentle warmth at my back. "Is this the young man I've heard so much about?" She asked. I smiled. She did not bow and kowtow to Zuko's title, for that was not Gran-Gran's way, and Zuko seemed to appreciate it.

"From what I hear, you've made a fine choice." Gran-Gran's eyes sparkled. "But I could have told them that." She said, with hidden wisdom. I sat beside her, holding her hand and just enjoying being near her again.

We talked for what seemed to be forever. I'd missed her grandmotherly wisdom, and delighted in hearing the rasp of her old voice. She and Iroh played off each other well, joking and spouting proverbs in perfect time. I smiled, feeling my heart overflow with the joy of the moment.

But even that had to come to an end. The sun was beginning to set, and the guests began to slowly leave. Gran-Gran gave a quick look out the window, and then straightened, looking me square in the eye.

"Now, Katara," She began, "I had the job of talking to your mother on the day of her wedding, and I shall have to be the one to talk to you, too." Suddenly, I felt very, very nervous. She wasn't going to... she wouldn't...

"On the wedding night of a man and woman, something very special happens." She began, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Oh, Gran-Gran, really, you don't have to." I held up my hands, half to stop her, half to shield myself. I heard Zuko snicker behind me.

"Listen to your Grandmother, Katara." Iroh spoke up, a wicked little gleam in his own eyes. "After all, Zuko is a firebender. You should know that they get very warm when-"

"Uncle, would you like some more tea?" Zuko said in a panic. It was my turn to snicker, now.

"Now, now, don't be shy. It's perfectly natural." Gran-Gran giggled like a school girl.

"I really should be going now. I can't wait to get out of this dress." I tried to change the subject, but realized too late that it was a wrong choice of words. A _very _wrong choice of words.

"Don't worry, young lady. I'm sure Zuko feels the same way about you getting out of your dress."

"We're going now." Zuko said, pulling me away from the table and from the laughing old people.

We stayed a while longer, saying goodbye to all the guests who had come to wish us well. It was good to celebrate with friends and family. It was good to laugh, after all those years of fear and worry and war. Oh, it was so good.

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"Don't drop me."

"Have I ever dropped you?"

"No."

"Then don't worry."

"I'm not worried." I said. It was true. I wasn't worried...

...I was _nervous. _But it wasn't the same sort of nervous you might get on the eve of battle, or before making a speech in front of many people. This was a different kind of nervous. It was like when I'd been a child, waiting for the Festival of Winter Solstice, when the villagers would gather and exchange gifts. It was like that, only multiplied a hundred times.

It was a kind of happy anticipation, tingling under my skin and causing tiny tremors in my muscles. I wondered if Zuko could feel it. He was, after all, carrying me. He'd insisted on it as we came to the little cabin overlooking the sea.

It had been lavishly decorated for us, with draping silk everywhere and flower petals scattered over the floor and on the bed. Goblets and a pitcher were set on a table by the bed, along with some sugary-looking food. Zuko set me down on the soft sheets, and I could smell the intoxicating scent of perfumed water rise from the mattress.

Would you like something to drink? He asked. I licked my lips, suddenly realizing how dry they were. I nodded and watched as he straightened and walked over to the pitcher, pouring out a honey-colored liquid into one of the goblets and handing it to me.

Putting the goblet to my lips, I took a tentative sip. I smiled at the flavor. It was sweet, just as its coloring promised, and tasted faintly of spice. I drank deeply, letting the spices heat my skin and the honey add a tingling of energy to my muscles.

Zuko stood and walked to the wardrobe as he began the chore of stripping off the many layers of his ceremonial robes. They seemed burdensome to me, but I realized they could not be worse then the hot, heavy armor he'd used to wear. I laid back and watched him undress of the heavy robes until he was only in his silk tunic and pants.

I smiled, remembering that first day I'd seen him in the outfit, the day when Aang had defeated him and we'd had to take off his armor to make carrying him back to camp easier. How long ago that seemed now.

I'd wanted little to do with him then, but now...

In only his tunic and pants, his muscles rippling noticeably beneath the fabric, I remembered the many nights we'd shared together at the earthbender fortress. The night he'd saved me from the cold sickness, the nights we'd held each other in the dark, not wanting to acknowledge our need for each other, but relishing in the touch anyway. A wordless longing had been born then, a longing that had grown into a pounding, rushing _need._

I felt that need pressing down on me now. It washed over me, as urgent and undeniable as a tsunami crashing against the shore. We'd held back for so long, careful not to violate the honor of marriage, but now there was nothing to hold us back. Nothing but some silk.

Silk that was now clinging to Zuko's sculpted body in all the right places. I felt my heart speed up, hammering in my chest as my skin tingled with an electricity penetrated straight down into my core. I loved this man... and I _wanted _him.

I got up from the bed and walked over slowly, enjoying the painful feel of anticipation. Zuko turned to me, placing his goblet on the table, and just in time. I put both hands on his shoulders and pushed him against the wall, pressing him there with my body weight. I stared hard at Zuko, and he understood.

Our mouths met in hungry, hot kisses. Zuko responded to my need with a moan of pleasure, pressing back. His hands reached around my waist and began tugging at the lacing of the delicate wedding dress.

Following his lead, I placed my hands on his chest and began to unbutton the tunic, letting it fall to hit the floor. I felt it fall around my ankles, a cloud of silk, its precious value ignored and unwanted at the moment. My hands followed the muscular lines of Zuko's chest. Growling with hunger, Zuko lifted me off my feet and carried me in his arms to the bed.

Once again lying on the sheets, I looked up at my lover, who was crawling forward, his body hovering just inches from mine, his breath caressing my cheek, smelling of the spiced honey mixture.

The last few rays of sunlight mingled with the silver light of the already-risen moon and cast the room in a dim, sultry light. I brought my hand up, brushing Zuko's now-unmarked cheekbone and smiled at the softness. Leaning into my touch, his lips came down on mine.

My hands landed on his stomach, the muscles tightening in pleasure at my touch.

A little lower, and I was at his waistband. A tremor ran through me as I tugged at the drawstring, loosening the waistband.

The last sound I heard was the swish of silk falling to the floor before my world dissolved into ecstacy.

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It is said in that on the night of the wedding, the fires in every hearth across the kingdom blazed with such intensity that many families had to put them out in fear that the heat would consume the house.

It is also said that on that night, the sea pounded against the shore with such strength that the booming of it could be heard three day's journey inland.

No one knows if these legends and rumors are true, but two things are for certain. One is that in every legend there is a grain of truth.

The second is even more certain:

On that night, Fire and Water became one.

That night marked the first of many nights filled with peace and happiness for all the nations. War would no longer ravish homes with fear, the blood of young men and women would no longer stain the ground. A new day had dawned, marking the end of a time when the world had tread on Dangerous Ground.

**The End**

So, that's it:-) I do so hope you've enjoyed it! You, my dear readers, have been the driving force behind the story. You have been an incredible encouragement and a blessing to me as I wrote this. I cannot thank you enough for your support and incredible reviews. Please remember that I am always up for a chat. Email, AIM, or my website are all ways you can reach me if you want to talk about writing, the color of the sky, or whatever suits your fancy.

This fic has been incredibly fun to write. Why wouldn't it? It combines two of my favorite things: Avatar and writing:-)

But I _do _have one thing that I love more than both: My Savior.

I'm not talking about a life guard, although you could call him that. I'm talking about Jesus. Don't worry! I don't go bashing people about the heads with Bibles, lol. I'm open minded, and willing to talk about Christianity, your religion, or whatever, whenever you feel like it. Do you have a question about God? Or about this Christianity stuff you've heard about? Please, send me an email, ping me on AIM, or drop a comment at my xanga. I promise you two things: an open mind, and acceptance that you may believe differently than me. I'm here to answer whatever question you can come up with, without judgement or fear of ridicule.

Thank you again, all of you, for your incredible support and reviews. You people are wonderful, and I hope you liked Dangerous Ground. Give yourselves a hand, you, the readers, are the heros and heroines of this story!

Wilderness Writer


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